Ether

ETHER, Aether aethylicus, ethyl (otherwise diethyl) ether, obtained by heating ethyl alcohol with sulfuric acid, why it is also incorrectly called sulfuric ether, Aether sulfuricus (C₂H₆)₃O. First obtained in 1540. Ether is a colorless transparent liquid with a characteristic odor, sharp burning taste, specific gravity 0.720 at 15°, boiling point 35-36°; dissolves in 12 parts water; mixes in all proportions with alcohol, chloroform, essential oils, dissolves fats, resins and many alkaloids. Ether is easily flammable, and a mixture of its vapors with air easily explodes. Evaporating easily already at room temperature with great absorption of heat, Ether causes cooling to 0° and below. In 1846, Ether was first used by Morton and Warren for inhalation anesthesia and is still one of the most commonly used narcotic agents for general anesthesia. Inhalation of ether vapors causes irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, accompanied by increased secretion of mucus and reflex changes in respiration and blood circulation; accumulation of mucus in the respiratory tract, as well as their cooling, contribute to the occurrence of postoperative bronchitis and pneumonia. The onset of deep anesthesia is preceded by a more pronounced and longer stage of excitation than with chloroform inhalation. To achieve deep anesthesia more quickly, the concentration of ether vapors in the inhaled air is quite quickly brought to 12% (by volume), and then reduced to 6%, sufficient to maintain the required depth of anesthesia. The total amount of ether used during an hour-long anesthesia averages 150 g. Ether is apparently not changed in the body to any noticeable extent, and in the exhaled air up to 92% of the introduced ether can be detected (Haggard). Its excretion occurs much faster than with chloroform anesthesia, but continues for quite a long time. In human blood (data from Gramen et al.) in deep anesthesia contains 0.08%, 8 hours after anesthesia - 0.005% and after a day still traces of Ether (On the technique of anesthesia, its course, complications, contraindications to it, measures to combat acute intoxication - see General Anesthesia and Narcotic Substances). Ether anesthesia is characterized compared to chloroform by less disturbance of blood circulation (Ether is 35-40 times less toxic to the heart than chloroform) and the absence of difficult-to-reverse disturbances from parenchymal organs (absence of degenerative changes that could lead to late death after chloroform anesthesia), which makes even prolonged ether anesthesia relatively safe (mortality with ether anesthesia is 2.5 times less than with chloroform). Ether is also used in combined anesthesia, when after achieving sufficient depth of anesthesia with the help of chloroform or chloroethyl, the latter are replaced by Ether. For the easier achievement of ether anesthesia, preliminary administration of morphine or morphine with scopolamine is often used; sometimes a combination of ether anesthesia with magnesium (see Magnesium) or avertin anesthesia is used. Preliminary administration of atropine (or scopolamine) reduces mucus secretion and somewhat reduces the danger of pneumonia (Trendelenburg recommends the use of calcium chloride for the prevention of pneumonia). Inhalation of Ether is also used to obtain the so-called raush (superficial short anesthesia). In addition to inhalation ether anesthesia, rectal and intravenous ether anesthesia are sometimes used. With the help of Ether, local anesthesia can also be achieved, which occurs when the skin is cooled by evaporating Ether when it is sprayed with special devices. For these purposes, however, a lower boiling chloroethyl is now more often used (see). Internally, Ether has long been used in the form of so-called Hoffman's drops as a carminative, and partly as an analgesic for pains in the abdominal organs; in the form of Durand's mixture - for hepatic colic; often Ether was previously added to expectorant mixtures as a means of enhancing the secretion of bronchial mucus (Cushny). Subcutaneous injections of Ether were recommended several years ago for so-called postoperative and other bronchitis (Bier), and intramuscular injections - for the treatment of whooping cough (Audrai et al.). Subcutaneously, Ether (usually in a mixture with 1 part of Camphorae oil per 10 parts) is more often used as an analepticum. Subcutaneous administration of Ether is very painful, but when it is introduced less painfully into the depth of tissues, one should beware of injections near nerve trunks (danger of paralysis). The analeptic effect is partly associated with reflex excitation of respiration, blood circulation and higher nerve centers, and partly with resorptive effect, which in the doses used stimulates the respiratory and vasomotor centers (Frohlich, Morita) and can lead to excitement associated with intoxication, reduction of pain and other distressing sensations, and thus to euphoria (in the agonizing state - to euthanasia). The use of ether by drug addicts (etheromania) began even before its use in medicine. Regardless of whether Ether is taken by a drug addict orally or inhaled, the characteristic smell of Ether, excreted by the lungs for hours, is a good diagnostic sign of this type of drug addiction. For etheromaniacs inhaling Ether, catarrhs of the conjunctiva and upper respiratory tract are characteristic. Withdrawal from Ether apparently occurs more easily than from alkaloids (morphine and cocaine), somatic disturbances also pass quickly, however, there is always the danger that with the remaining need for a narcotic (see Drug addiction) the patient will replace Ether with alcohol or another substance that creates euphoria. Preparations: 1) Aether, Aether aethylicus, Aether sulfuricus purus (Ph. VII). Highest single dose 1.0. 2) Aether purissimus pro narcosi (Ph. VII), narcotic Ether; in addition to purity tests performed when testing the first preparation, it must also withstand additional tests for the content of harmful impurities (aldehydes, peroxides, vinyl alcohol, etc.). To avoid chemical changes, Ether should be stored in a dark and cool place in hermetically sealed, filled almost to the top dark glass bottles, with a capacity of about 150 cm³. Both preparations are manufactured by the pharmaceutical plant named after Karpov. 3) Liquor anodynus Hoffmanni, s. Spiritus aethereus, Hoffman's drops ('t'VII) - Ether 1 part, 90% alcohol 2 parts, 10-30 drops in water or on sugar. 4) Durand's mixture - Ether 10 parts, turpentine 20 parts, 15-30 drops per day. 5) Ether-valerian drops (see). v. Karasik. Lit.-see lit. to the article General Anesthesia.