John Snow (1813-1858) was an English physician.
Snow is considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology (the cholera cartographer); and a leader in the development of anaesthesia, medical hygiene and public health.
Developed the first staging classification for depth of anaesthesia in 1847, the five stages of narcotism or etherization as a precursor to classifications by Plomley and Guedel (1937)
Biography
- Born 15 March 1813
- Died 16 June 1858
Medical Eponyms
Key Medical Attributions
Anaesthesia
The first classification system for general anaesthesia was proposed in 1847 by John Snow as the 5 stages of etherization (narcotism); and furthered by Francis Plomley in the Lancet in the same year. Guedel later proposed a four stage classification system to assess the depth of general anesthesia in 1937. This was designed for use with a single inhalational anesthetic agent (ether), in patients premedicated with morphine and atropine.
Controversies
Major Publications
Anaesthetics
- Snow J. On the inhalation of the vapours of ether. 1847
- Snow J. On the Inhalation of the Vapour of Ether in surgical operations; containing a description of the various stages of etherization, and a statement of the result of nearly eighty operations. 1847
- Snow J. On the discussion respecting chloroform. 1849
- Snow J. On the fatal cases of inhalation of chloroform. 1849
- Snow J. The alleged employment of chloroform by thieves. London Medical Gazette. 1850; 45
- Snow J. On narcotism by the inhalation of vapours. 1851 (parts 8-16) (Parts 17-28)
- Snow J. On the cause and prevention of death from chloroform. 1852
- Snow J. On chloroform and other anaesthetics: their action and administration. 1858
Epidemiology
- Snow J. On the pathology and mode of communication of cholera. London Medical Gazette. 1849; 44
- Snow J. On the mode of communication of cholera. 1849
- Snow J. On continuous molecular changes, more particularly in their relation to epidemic diseases. 1853
- Snow J. The Cholera Near Golden Square, and at Deptford Medical Times and Gazette 1854; 9: 321-22
- Snow J. On the mode of communication of cholera. 1855
- Snow J. Report on the cholera outbreak in the Parish of St. James, Westminster. 1855
- Snow J. Cholera and the water supply in the south districts of London. 1856
References
- Frerichs RR. Life and times of Dr. John Snow (1813-1858). UCLA
- Maltby R. Notable Names in Anaesthesia. The Choir Press. 2013: 205-208
- Bynum W. In retrospect: On the Mode of Communication of Cholera. Naturev 2013; 495: 169–170
- Nickson C. Just Read the Map. LITFL
eponym
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