Arthur Guedel and the Ascendance of Anesthesia: A Teacher, Tinkerer, and Transformer

At the beginning of the twentieth century, anesthesia was an emerging field without permanent departments, exclusive practitioners, or academic residency programs. Instead, surgeons and nurses administered anesthetic gases in an ad-hoc fashion, exposing patients to the perilous risks of general anesthesia. Dr. Arthur Guedel was a general practitioner from rural Indiana who unexpectedly became an integral part of anesthesia's evolution into a safety conscience and formally recognized expertise. Beginning during his military service in World War I, he refined the stages of ether anesthesia and produced the definitive textbook on inhalational anesthetics. During the prolific career that followed, Guedel also introduced ground-breaking devices for patient-controlled analgesia, cuffed endotracheal intubation, and oral airway patency. His inclusive mentorship, collaborative research, and innovative instruments exemplify his role as a multitalented tinkerer, teacher, and transformative leader. This essay examines Guedel's pioneering contributions and the scope of his influence, all of which revolutionized anesthesia and expanded surgeons' operative capability. Through the lens of Guedel's personal and professional life, this essay further illustrates how the diverse, interdisciplinary, and cutting edge characteristics of the practice itself contributed to anesthesia's increased importance in modern medicine.