William Mapleson

Biography

• Born on August 2, 1926 in West Ealing London
• 1947 – Bachelor in Physics, University of Durham
• 1947-1949 Completed National Service in the RAF teaching radar and thereafter returned to Durham to complete a doctoral thesis on “Point discharge in atmospheric electricity“
• 1952 – Research assistant/lecturer in the Department of Anaesthetics of the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff after responding to an advert “if only for the interview practice” and with initial intention to “stay for five years”
• 1954 – Published his paper of the five anaesthetic breathing systems “Mapleson circuits” in the British Journal of Anaesthesia
• 1958 – Founder member of the British Anaesthetic Research Society [now the Anaesthetic Research Society (ARS)]
• 1972 – DSc thesis on the Physics of the lung and its relation to anaesthetics
• 1973 – Professor and chair in the physics of anaesthesia in Cardiff
• 1977 – Pask Certificate of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
• 1978 – Clover Medal of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. First non-physician scientist to join the board of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
• 1991 – Officially retired however continued to spend two days a week in the department teaching and advising on research
• 1992 – Dudley Buxton Medal of the College of Anaesthetists
• 1996 – Elected to Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
• 1998 – Henry Hill Hickman Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine
• 2012 – Macewen Medal from the Difficult Airway Society
• Died on October 31, 2018 in London, England

Medical Eponyms

Mapleson Circuit Systems (1954)

The Mapleson Circuit Systems are used for the delivery of oxygen and anaesthetic agents and the removal of carbon dioxide during general anaesthesia.

Components include breathing tube, adjustable pressure limiting valve, reservoir bag, fresh gas flow and patient connection. Mapleson described five breathing circuits: A, B, C, D and E. A 6th circuit ‘the Jackson Rees modification of Ayre’s T-piece (F)‘ was later added in a paper by Willis, Pender and Mapleson in 1975.

Mapleson’s landmark 1954 paper classified anaesthetic breathing circuits and gave rise to the nomenclature of Mapleson circuits A, B, C, D and E. This classic paper was initially regarded as a minor theoretical study by Mapleson who was awaiting volunteers for another neuromuscular relaxant study. It has since received over 296 citations and continues to be cited regularly. Mapleson often made light of the study stating:

I seem to have become the only person to make his reputation in anaesthesia on the strength of his knowledge of the alphabet

The publication brought him to the attention of the anaesthetists and marked the beginning of a career long interest in respiration during general anaesthesia as well as all aspects of pharmacology and physiology of the general anaesthetic agents used. Mapleson was also the first to demonstrate that ventilator use in adult patients in 1962 were inappropriate for use in paediatrics.

WW Mapleson Medal (2000)

Founded in 2000 by the Anaesthetic Research Society (ARS) and awarded to the speaker considered to have presented the best research in a professional manner at an ARS meeting.

Major Publications

• Mapleson WW. The elimination of rebreathing in various semi-closed anaesthetic systems. Br J Anaesth. 1954; 26(5): 323-332 [reprint Br J Anaesth. 1998; 80(2): 263-269.]
• Mapleson WW, Mushin W.M. Stimulation of the ulnar nerve in man. Br J Anaesth. 1956; 28(1): 46-47
• Mapleson WW. Theoretical considerations of the effects of rebreathing in two semi-closed anaesthetic systems. Br Med Bull. 1958; 14(1): 64-68.
• Waters DJ, Mapleson WW. Rebreathing during controlled respiration with various semiclosed anesthetic systems. Br J Anaesth. 1961; 33(8): 374-381
• Mapleson WW. The rate of uptake of halothane vapour in man. Br J Anaesth. 1962; 34(1): 11-18
• Mushin WW, Mapleson WW, Lunn JN. Problems of automatic ventilation in infants and children. Br J Anaesth. 1962; 34(8): 514-522
• Mapleson W.W. Mathematical aspects of the uptake of inhaled gases and vapours. Br J Anaesth. 1964; 36(3): 129-139
• Mushin WM, Mapleson WW. Relaxant action in man of dipyrandium chloride (MB 9105A) (A steroid bis-quaternary ammonium salt). Br J Anaesth. 1964; 36(12): 761-768.
• Mapleson WW. Circulation time models of uptake of inhaled anaesthetics and data for quantifying them. Br J Anaesth. 1973; 45(4): 319-334
• Mapleson WW, Smith G, Sykes MK. High-frequency ventilation. Br J Anaesth. 1989; 63(7), S1: 1S-2S
• Mapleson WW. Effect of age on MAC in humans: a meta-analysis. Br J Anaesth. 1996; 76(2): 179-185
• Mapleson WW. Editorial I: Fifty years after–reflections on ‘The elimination of rebreathing in various semi-closed anaesthetic systems’. Br J Anaesth. 2004; 93(3): 319-321.

References

Biography

• Maltby R. Mapleson breathing systems. William Wellesley Mapleson. In: Notable names in Anaesthesia. The Choir Press 2013: 132-134
• William Wellesley Mapleson. DAS medal, 2012
• Hunter JM, Hemmings HC Jr. The many contributions of WW Mapleson to the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Br J Anaesth. 2019; 122(2): 159-162.
• Obituary. Professor William Mapleson. The Times. 2019
• Bibliography. Mapleson, William Wellesley. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Willis BA, Pender JW, Mapleson WW. Rebreathing in a T-piece: volunteer and theoretical studies of the Jackson Rees modification of Ayre’s T-piece during spontaneous respiration. Br J Anaesth. 1975; 47(12): 1239-1246.
• Oral Histories. Prof William Mapleson: Physics in Anaesthesia. Association of anaesthetists heritage centre. 2011
• Kaul TK, Mittal G. Mapleson’s Breathing Systems. Indian J Anaesth. 2013; 57(5): 507-515.

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