1500's
 |
Accounts referring to Peruvian Indians chewing on leaves of the coca plant are found.
|
| 1884 |
Carl Koller demonstrated the usefulness of the extract from these leaves (cocaine) as a topical anesthetic for the eyes, and earned distinction as the "Father of Local Anesthesia". |
| 1884 |
William Halsted used cocaine in the first nerve block (an inferior alveolar nerve block). The use of cocaine for anesthesia produced several unwanted side effects including cardiac problems and addiction. |
| 1885 |
James Corning demonstrated the use of a tourniquet to slow absorption of cocaine. |
| 1901 |
Heinrich Braun demonstrated the use of epinephrine to retard local anesthetic absorption from the site of injection. |
| 1904 |
Alfred Einhorn introduced procaine (proprietary name novocaine) which had far fewer side effects. Epinephrine was needed to constrict the vessels in the area of administration to lengthen the duration of anesthesia. It was common to see a 1:50,000 concentration for many years. |
| 1943 |
Nils Lofgren introduced lidocaine (proprietary name xylocaine), a synthetic anesthetic with far fewer allergic responses and faster onset of action. |
| 1947 |
Novocol company made the dental aspirating syringe available. |
| 1959 |
Disposable sterile needles made available by Cook-Waite, Roehr Company. |
| (Information from: Malamed, 1994: JADA and Yagiela, 1991: Anesthesia Progress) |
