Arthur Ernest Guedel (June 13, 1883 – June 10, 1956) was an American
anesthesiologist
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative medicine, perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critica ...
. He was known for his studies on the uptake and distribution of
inhalational anesthetics, as well for defining the various stages of
general anesthesia
General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is medically induced loss of consciousness that renders a patient unarousable even by painful stimuli. It is achieved through medications, which can be injected or inhaled, often with an analgesi ...
.
The guedel pattern airway is named after him.
Early life and education
Arthur Ernest Guedel was born on June 13, 1883, in
Cambridge City, Indiana
Cambridge City is a town in Jackson Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Jackson Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,870 at the 2010 census.
History
Cambridge City was laid out and platte ...
, to Jahn and Mary Guedel. During his teens, he had an accident at work that amputated three fingers from his right hand. His family was unable to afford high school, so he taught himself and was admitted to the School of Medicine of
Purdue University–Indianapolis (which merged to form
Indiana University School of Medicine
The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the US state, U.S. state of Indiana and is both the Medical school, undergraduate and Graduate medical education, graduate medical school o ...
). He graduated in 1908 with first honors and began his internship at Indianapolis City Hospital.
World War I
Guedel served as First Lieutenant (and later Captain) in the U.S. Army from 1917-1919. During his time, he worked at the American Expeditionary Forces hospitals in Chaumont and Vittels, France. Guedel was responsible for overseeing up to six hospitals at one time. For this reason, he became known as the "motorcycle anesthetist" because he would travel to the various hospitals by motorcycle. Guedel taught various medical personnel, from nurses to orderlies, how to manage anesthesia. Because of this, he defined the stages of anesthesia, now known as
Guedel's classification
Guedel's classification is a means of assessing the depth of general anesthesia introduced by Arthur Ernest Guedel (1883–1956) in 1920.
History
Since general anesthesia first became widely used in late 1846, assessment of anesthetic depth wa ...
.
Dunked dog experiment
In the 1920s, Guedel began experimenting with how to make a cuffed endotracheal airway. He corresponded greatly with his colleague and friend, Dr
Ralph M. Waters about inventing a cuffed endotracheal tube. In 1928, Guedel and Waters did the "dunked dog experiment" on Guedel's family dog. In the experiment, the dog was sedated and intubated using Guedel's cuffed airway. To show how well the cuffed airway worked, the dog was dunked underwater for one hour. Following this, the dog was taken out of the tank and took a nap on the floor. The dog later lived with Waters and his family in Wisconsin.
Personal life
Guedel married Florence Fulton in 1909. They had two children: Marian (b. 1912) and Gretchen (1915-1940).
Guedel died in California in 1956 at the age of 72.
See also
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Guedel's classification
Guedel's classification is a means of assessing the depth of general anesthesia introduced by Arthur Ernest Guedel (1883–1956) in 1920.
History
Since general anesthesia first became widely used in late 1846, assessment of anesthetic depth wa ...
*
Oropharyngeal airway
An oropharyngeal airway (also known as an oral airway, OPA or Guedel pattern airway) is a medical device called an ''airway adjunct'' used in airway management to maintain or open a patient's airway. It does this by preventing the tongue from cov ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Guedel, Arthur Ernest
1883 births
1956 deaths
American anesthesiologists
People from Cambridge City, Indiana