Edward Henry Embley (28 February 1861 – 9 May 1924) was an Australian physician who studied the effects of

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane (often abbreviated as TCM), is an organochloride with the formula and a common solvent. It is a volatile, colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to refrigerants and po ...

on the human body. Embley was born at

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a town in west central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 123 kilometres (76 miles) northwest by road ...

, younger son of Richard Edward Embley, a baker, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Smith, who both came from

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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. He was educated at Castlemaine Grammar School, the Bendigo High School and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, where he graduated M.B., B.S. in 1889. He practised in Latrobe-street,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and taking much interest in

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

s, gained the degree of M.D. in 1901 with a thesis on that subject. There had been various investigations into the question of the safe administration of anaesthetics, but Embley was not satisfied with the conclusions arrived at and made a comprehensive inquiry into the problem. In 1902 he was able to show "that heart muscle is very sensitive to

poisoning, that this drug raises the excitability of the vagus, that deaths in the induction stage of anaesthesia are syncopal and unconcerned with respiration, that failure of respiration is mainly due to fall of blood pressure, and that in the post-indication stages of anaesthesia there is a general depression of all activities and no longer syncope through excited vagus action". This was Embley's most important achievement, and the value of his work was widely recognized. Embley continued his investigations into various aspects of the subject for many years, and was honorary anaesthetist to the Melbourne hospital until 1917. Ill-health caused his retirement from practice in 1920 and he died of cerebro-vascular disease at Melbourne after a long illness on 9 May 1924. He married and left a widow and two daughters. In 1929 the International Anesthesia Research Society held a memorial dinner in Chicago, and presented a scroll of honour to the University of Melbourne. Embley was awarded the first

David Syme Research Prize The David Syme Research Prize is an annual award administered by the University of Melbourne for the best original research work in biology, physics, chemistry or geology, produced in Australia during the preceding two years. Particular preference ...

at the University of Melbourne in 1906.

References

* *Geoffrey Kaye,
Embley, Edward Henry (1861 - 1924)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 8, MUP, 1981, pp 436–437. Retrieved on 12 October 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Embley 1861 births 1924 deaths Australian anaesthetists People from the Colony of Victoria