Every now and then there are men and women who discover or achieve something extraordinary that ultimately helps mankind in one way or another.

“A small step for men, a great step for mankind”, famous words from the astronaut Neil Armstrong when he placed the first footstep on the moon surface on July 20^th 1969.

Something similar must have gone through the head of William T. G. Morton (1819-1868) when he made history while preforming the first public and successful demonstration of anaesthesia for surgical purposes. Imagining the surgical procedures that were performed before the 19th century will probably shock more than one, as many deaths occurred during surgery before anaesthesia was discovered.

This discovery helped medicine make a huge leap forward by finally providing the means to eliminate (or at least reduce drastically) the suffering associated with surgical interventions.

Today, 174 years later we are celebrating the first public and successful demonstration of anaesthesia for surgical purposes. William Morton is certainly one of those forgotten heroes of history, to whom Quantium Medical would like to pay homage on this special day.

He would probably boast a great smile if he knew how many millions of surgeries are safely taking place everyday thanks to his efforts and the hard work of the Anaesthesiologists who master this discipline.