Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with December 17.

Events

1845 – Crawford Williamson Long (1815–1878) reportedly administered sulphuric ether to his wife Caroline Swain Long for analgesia during the birth of their second child. The first recorded use of inhalational anaesthesia in childbirth

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Births

1787 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787-1869), Czech anatomist and experimental physiologist; described Purkinje Cells (1837), Purkinje Fibres (1839), Purkinje vesicle (1825), Purkinje Images (1823), and Purkinje Tree (1823)

1856 – Elisabeth Hermine Winterhalter (1856-1952), German gynecologist and surgeon; described Winterhalter ganglia (1896)

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Deaths

1987 – Maurice David Sachs (1909-1987), American radiologist; described the Hill-Sachs defect (1940)

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Further reading

• Long CW. An account of the first use of Sulphuric Ether by Inhalation as an Anaesthetic in Surgical Operation. Southern Medical and Surgical Journal 1849; 5: 705-713
• Long Taylor F. Crawford W. Long And The Discovery Of Ether Anesthesia. 1928