The process of administering a substance that causes loss of sensation or consciousness, usually for medical procedures.
From Greek 'an-' (without) + 'aesthesis' (sensation), first used in the 1840s when ether and chloroform were discovered to numb pain during surgery, revolutionizing medicine.
Before 1846, surgeons had to work as fast as possible while patients screamed—the first public ether anesthesia demonstration was such a breakthrough that the surgeon famously said 'Gentlemen, this is no humbug!'
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