@article {Rosenbloom102, author = {Julia M Rosenbloom and Robert B Schonberger}, title = {The outlook of physician histories: J. Marion Sims and {\textquoteleft}The Discovery of Anaesthesia{\textquoteright}}, volume = {41}, number = {2}, pages = {102--106}, year = {2015}, doi = {10.1136/medhum-2015-010680}, publisher = {Institute of Medical Ethics}, abstract = {The fact that doctors have a long tradition of writing medical history to interpret and direct their profession is well established. But readers (particularly modern physician readers) can also understand physician-authored histories as offering commentary and analysis of the world beyond medicine. In this essay, we offer a reading (perhaps a modern one) of J. Marion Sims{\textquoteright}s 1877 article, {\textquoteleft}The Discovery of Anaesthesia{\textquoteright} which exemplifies the stance of looking both inward and outward from the medical field. We begin by discussing Sims, including the complicated legacy he left as a physician. Next, we review late 19th-century history with a focus on Reconstruction. Finally, we show how the modern reader can use Sims{\textquoteright}s article both to trace the first use of ether and nitrous oxide for surgical anaesthesia and to provide a window into the 19th-century medical profession and the post-Civil War period. Through this study, we hope to show how to read both medicine and the world around it in physician histories.}, issn = {1468-215X}, URL = {https://mh.bmj.com/content/41/2/102}, eprint = {https://mh.bmj.com/content/41/2/102.full.pdf}, journal = {Medical Humanities} }