John Collins Warren in the Ether Dome performing the first surgery to use ether. John Collins Warren ( August 1, 1778 – May 4, 1856) of Boston, was one of the most renowned American surgeons of the 19th century The Ether Dome was the operating room of the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Ether is a class of Organic compounds which contain an ether group — an Oxygen Atom connected to two (substituted Alkyl

An operating theater (or theatre) was a tiered theater or amphitheater in which students and other spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one An amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is an open-air venue for spectator sports concerts rallies or theatrical performances Today the term is sometimes used synonymously with operating room or operating suite, the room within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out today.

Function

Operating theaters had a raised table or chair of some sort at the center for performing operations, and were surrounded by several rows of seats (operating theaters could be cramped or spacious) so students and other spectators could observe the case in progress. The surgeons wore street clothes with an apron to protect them from blood stains, and they operated bare-handed with unsterilized instruments and supplies. An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body Sterilization (or sterilisation, see spelling differences) refers to any process that effectively kills or eliminates transmissible agents (such as Fungi (Gut and silk sutures were sold as open strands with reusable, hand-threaded needles; packing gauze was made of sweepings from the floors of cotton mills. )

In contrast to today's concept of surgery as a profession that emphasizes cleanliness and conscientiousness, at the beginning of the 20th century the mark of a busy and successful surgeon was the profusion of blood and fluids on his clothes. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

Surviving operating theaters

While operating theaters are no longer used for surgery, some still exist. One of the oldest surviving operating theaters is the Old Operating Theatre in London. The Old Operating Theatre Museum is one of London ’s most intriguing historic interiors London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Built in 1822, it is now a museum of surgical history.

Another famous operating theater is the Ether Dome in Boston. The Ether Dome was the operating room of the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Built in 1824, it is now a conference room and tourist attraction. A conference hall or conference room is a Room provided for singular events such as Business conferences It is commonly found at large Hotels

In popular culture

• In Lemony Snicket's The Hostile Hospital, the character (Hook-handed man)Dr. Lemony Snicket is a Pseudonym used by author Daniel Handler in his book series A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as a character in that The Hostile Hospital is the eighth novel in the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. O. Lucafont disguises himself as a doctor and tries to perform a "cranioectomy" (decapitation) on Violet Baudelaire for a live audience in an operating theater. Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head or beheading, is the cutting off of the head of a person or animal Violet Baudelaire is one of the main characters in the popular children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

See also

• anatomical theater

Outside sources

The Operating Theatre Journal is published in the United Kingdom. An anatomical theatre was an institution used in teaching Anatomy at Early modern universities