It was here in Boston that ether was first employed. The value of that anesthetic needs no comment; the horror of centuries of surgical misery is as great a testament of its worth as the pain it saves the patient today. Yet ether is by no means a perfect anesthetic. Its after effects are notorious, and it must be administered with extraordinary care. Nausea, even heart-failure, follow its use, and the awakening of the anesthetized strongly resembles the writhings of a drunk.

Yesterday, in Baltimore, physicians of Mr. Sinai hospital announced the discovery of a new anesthetic, in the form of a power which is diluted in sterile water and injected into the arm of the patient. The reaction is very quick, unconsciousness following in some twenty seconds. Intravenous injection permits the doctors and nurses to dispense with the masks required for the safe administration of ether. When the patient awakes, his condition is practically unchanged; the test case was able to eat a large meal after the trial, a feat impossible after anesthetization by ether.

Evipana, as this new anesthetic is called, may open a new field in the prevention of pain. If we can judge by the report of the doctors of Mt. Sinai Hospital, the drug can be used under almost any circumstances, and, most especially, its effect on the heart is quite slight compared to chloroform and ether. Since quick injection in emergency cases is provided by the convenience of the hypodermic injection, it will doubtless become an essential part of the ambulance surgeon's equipment. From dentist to veterinary, this achievement will mean the opening of a new era.