Editing General anaesthesia (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of general anesthesia}}

{{Further|History of tracheal intubation}}
Attempts at producing general anaesthesia can be traced throughout recorded history in the writings of the ancient [[Sumer]]ians, [[Babylonia]]ns, [[Assyria]]ns, [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Indus Valley civilisation|Indians]], and [[History of China#Ancient China|Chinese]].  During the [[Middle Ages]], scholars made advances in the [[Eastern world]] and Europe.

The [[Renaissance]] saw advances in [[anatomy]] and [[surgery|surgical technique]]. However, surgery remained a treatment of last resort. Largely because of the associated [[pain]], many patients chose certain death over surgery. Although there has been debate as to who deserves the most credit for the discovery of general anaesthesia, scientific discoveries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were critical to the eventual introduction and development of modern anaesthetic techniques.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Toledo-Pereyra LH | title = Medical Renaissance | journal = Journal of Investigative Surgery | volume = 28 | issue = 3 | pages = 127–130 | date = June 2015 | pmid = 26065591 | doi = 10.3109/08941939.2015.1054747 | s2cid = 207482973 }}</ref>

Two enormous leaps occurred in the late 19th century, which allowed the transition to modern surgery. An appreciation of the [[germ theory of disease]] led to the development of [[antiseptic]] techniques in surgery. Antisepsis, which soon gave way to [[asepsis]], reduced the overall [[morbidity]] and [[Mortality rate|mortality]] of surgery to a far more acceptable rate.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Schlich T | title = Asepsis and bacteriology: a realignment of surgery and laboratory science | journal = Medical History | volume = 56 | issue = 3 | pages = 308–334 | date = July 2012 | pmid = 23002302 | pmc = 3426977 | doi = 10.1017/mdh.2012.22 }}</ref> Concurrently, significant advances in [[pharmacology]] and [[physiology]] led to the development of general anaesthesia. On 14 November 1804, [[Hanaoka Seishū]], a Japanese surgeon, became the first person on record to perform successful surgery using general anaesthesia.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dote K, Ikemune K, Desaki Y, Nandate H, Konisi A, Yorozuya T, Makino H | title = Two Japanese Pioneers in Anesthesiology: Seishū Hanaoka and Gendai Kamada | journal = Journal of Anesthesia History | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 19–23 | date = January 2017 | pmid = 28160985 | doi = 10.1016/j.janh.2016.12.002 }}</ref>

In the 20th century, general anaesthesia's safety and efficacy improved with routine [[tracheal intubation]] and other advanced [[airway management]] techniques. Advances in [[Medical monitor|monitoring]] and new [[anesthetic|anaesthetic agents]] with improved [[Pharmacokinetics|pharmacokinetic]] and [[Pharmacodynamics|pharmacodynamic]] characteristics also contributed to this trend, and standardized training programs for anaesthesiologists and [[nurse anesthetist|nurse anaesthetist]]s emerged.