History of Anaesthesia Timeline 

As a medical speciality, anaesthesia has developed since 400 BCE when poppies and other plants were first used for pain relief. This detailed timeline, which is keyword searchable, will help readers understand the evolution and complexities of the practice of anaesthesiology.

Download a Complete History of Anaesthesia timeline

For readers who are familiar with the timeline, this document contains additions or updates. Lines with a yellow background are updates of previous entries and lines with a green background are new information.

View the Latest additions to Anaesthesia timeline

In order to produce the timeline, Dr Reg Cammack has gleaned and collated these snippets of historical information from multiple sources in published literature, not only for his own interest but also in the hope of piquing the interest of our members in researching further the development of our specialty. He aims to produce updates and additions several times each year.