Anesthesia was one of the greatest innovations ever made. This discovery has saved millions of lives throughout the course of history. Prior to anesthetics, people would much rather die than have to have surgery. This may sound silly, but there was no pain killer used prior to anesthetics. Patients were forced to undergo the pain that came with the surgery, whether it being a tooth being pulled, an amputation, or having a mass or organ removed. It took a great amount of courage to undergo this pain, and many people lacked it; choosing to die or endure the pain associated with their medical problem. With the invention of anesthesia came relief to many. This medication would allow patients to have their surgery without the pain and allowed future people to not have to fear pain when they have some form of procedure. This has allowed millions to have surgery that saved lives and brought lives into this world and because of this, anesthesia is among the greatest of innovations.

Prior to anesthetics, brain surgery such as shown above was not possible.