: Electric anesthesia is the anesthesia, usually general anesthesia, produced by the application of an electrical current. This fascinating issue of the anesthesia history was made possible thanks to the pioneering experiments on electrotherapy and electrophysiology performed by two researchers: the neurologist Guillaume Duchenne (1806-1875) and the biologist Stéphane Leduc (1853-1939). The aim of this study is the review of the dispute between two Italian scientists on the effectiveness of electric anesthesia in the second half of the 19th century. One of the two contenders was Rodolfo Rodolfi (1827-1896), an Italian surgeon and patriot who took part in the First Italian War of Independence of 1848, whereas the other protagonist of the dispute was the positivist Plinio Schivardi (1833-1908), a pupil of Duchenne who brought to Italy his knowledge of electrotherapy, collecting these experiences in the Theoretical Practical Manual of Electrotherapy, the first book on the subject written in Italian.

The Experiments on Electrical Anesthesia in Italy in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century. A Dispute Between a Fearless Surgeon Patriot and a Positivist Researcher

Cascella, Marco
2015-01-01

Abstract

: Electric anesthesia is the anesthesia, usually general anesthesia, produced by the application of an electrical current. This fascinating issue of the anesthesia history was made possible thanks to the pioneering experiments on electrotherapy and electrophysiology performed by two researchers: the neurologist Guillaume Duchenne (1806-1875) and the biologist Stéphane Leduc (1853-1939). The aim of this study is the review of the dispute between two Italian scientists on the effectiveness of electric anesthesia in the second half of the 19th century. One of the two contenders was Rodolfo Rodolfi (1827-1896), an Italian surgeon and patriot who took part in the First Italian War of Independence of 1848, whereas the other protagonist of the dispute was the positivist Plinio Schivardi (1833-1908), a pupil of Duchenne who brought to Italy his knowledge of electrotherapy, collecting these experiences in the Theoretical Practical Manual of Electrotherapy, the first book on the subject written in Italian.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/4856451
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 0
  • Scopus 2
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact