Take a deep breath, and count back from ten…

From failed attempts to fatal consequences, the introduction of anaesthesia in 1846 was a major leap forward for medicine and surgery. But it forced doctors and patients to grapple with the many new questions it raised. What did it mean to lay claim to a discovery? What if the pain of surgery was beneficial? And what if the anaesthetic was deadly? ETHER/OR explores the problems of those early days of anaesthesia, but if you listen carefully you'll realise the debates those first anaesthetists had still echo in our operating theatres today.