Boyle's machine
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In medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, Boyle's machine is the name given to the continuous-flow apparatus used by anesthesiologist
Anesthesiologist
An anesthesiologist or anaesthetist is a physician trained in anesthesia and peri-operative medicine....

s to administer general anesthesia
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...

 to patients (human or veterinary) in operation theaters.

Medical grade oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

, nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...

 and inhalation anaesthetics can be administered to patients who are either breathing spontaneously or who have been paralyzed for the course of the surgical procedure using neuromuscular blocking drugs. Two breathing systems are usually present on the machine; one is the Magill's circuit or a universal Bain's breathing system, and less commonly, a circle absorber using soda lime
Soda lime
Soda lime is a mixture of chemicals, used in granular form in closed breathing environments, such as general anaesthesia, submarines, rebreathers and recompression chambers, to remove carbon dioxide from breathing gases to prevent CO2 retention and carbon dioxide poisoning.It is made by treating...

 granules to remove carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 exhaled by the patient.

History and Naming

The British anesthesiologist Dr. Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle
Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle
Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle OBE was a pioneering anaesthetist best remembered for the development of early anaesthetic machines.-Early life:...

 is credited with designing the first anesthesia machine in 1917, hence the name. Henry Boyle was a pioneering anesthesiologist. Born in Barbados, he qualified MRCS
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...

 LRCP
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...

 from St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...

, London. He is best remembered for the development of early anesthetic machines. Even until recently, an anesthesia machine for administering general anesthesia would often be referred to as a "Boyle's Machine" in honor of his contribution in this field. His design included cylinders for medical oxygen, nitrous oxide and a "Boyle's Bottle" to vaporize diethyl ether
Diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...

. His other contribution to anesthesia included the Boyle-Davis gag, which is still used today during tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy
A tonsillectomy is a 3,000-year-old surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed from either side of the throat. The procedure is performed in response to cases of repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis or adenoiditis, obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, snoring, or...

operations.
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