Monument to anesthesia

This is a monument to the first use of ether gas to block pain which occurred during a procedure to remove a tumor at the Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846. Prior to that, operations were conducted without any painkillers. www.massmoments.org/moment-details/boston-dentist-demonstrates-ether.html

"The statue depicts a medical doctor in medieval Moorish-Spanish robe and turban—representing a Good Samaritan—who holds the drooping body of an almost naked man on his left knee. The doctor holds in his left hand a cloth, suggesting the use of ether that would be developed in centuries to come.

The anachronistic use of a Moorish doctor was probably intentional and served to avoid choosing sides in a debate that was raging at the time over who should receive credit for the first use of ether as an anesthetic. A handful of individuals had claimed credit for the discovery of anesthesia, most notably William T. G. Morton and Crawford Long."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether_Monument

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