伯驾首例乙醚麻醉术之疑

Questions on the first operation with ethyl ether as anaesthetic by Dr. Peter Parker

乙醚是最先被广泛承认有效的全身麻醉剂，美国传教士医生伯驾在中国首先施行了乙醚麻醉术，是近代中外医学交流中的标志性事件之一。但其首例乙醚麻醉术报告未提及患者的病历号、手术日期等信息，而之后施行的乙醚麻醉术，相关信息则都有记录。伯驾通常会在医院报告中详细记录重要手术信息，首例乙醚麻醉术信息的缺失，可能并非由于＂疏忽＂，而是有意为之。通过分析伯驾的医院报告和他当时的处境，可以推测首例乙醚麻醉无效以及医院报告漏记重要信息的复杂原因。

Ethyl ether was the first accepted effective general anaesthetic. It was introduced into China by an America missionary, Dr. Peter Parker. This was one of the historical events of medical communication between China and the West. In the records of the first operation with ether, however, Dr. Parker unusually omitted the patient’s medical record number and the date of the operation, while those of other operations with ether anesthetics were all available. This was very unusual for a doctor like Peter Parker who always recorded every important case in detail in the hospital reports. It seems that he deliberately rather than carelessly omitted the information for some reasons. Based on the analysis of Parker’s reports, a conclusion is made that the anesthetic effect of the case was actually ineffective. Furthermore, possible answers to this are outlined and question by discussion based on the situation that Parker faced in the late Qing era.