That Quacking Sound in Colonial American Medical Care

http://rkthomas.myweb.uga.edu/LongSSPP.htm

A major discovery in 19th century medicine was the discovery and use of ether as an analgesic.

And ether caused many deaths owing to infections caused by unnecessary surgery. Well, strictly speaking, infections caused by germs that couldn't be controlled

I spent a bunch of my teen years reading about the history of medicine. Long time ago, it was. Makes me slightly nostalgic.

Prior to Fleming's discovery of the penicillin producing fungus, Penicillium notatum .