Gendai Kamada (1794–1854 or 1855) was a Japanese surgeon. Born in
Iyo Province, Gendai moved to
Kii Province at the age of 18 to study at a private school run by the prominent surgeon
Seishu Hanaoka Seishu may refer to:
* , another name for sake.
* , another name for Ise Province.
* , a Japanese surgeon of the Edo period with a knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine.
* , a well-known Japanese novelist.
* , Japanese baseball player
* , Japanese ...
, where he learned how to administer
general anaesthesia
General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is a medically induced loss of consciousness that renders the patient unarousable even with painful stimuli. This effect is achieved by administering either intravenous or inhalational general ...
. Upon completion of his five-year training he opened a clinic in his hometown;
he became well known throughout Japan for his surgical prowess, particularly his skill in treating
breast cancer.
In 1839 Gendai dictated the text of ''Mafutsuto-Ron'' to his student Hajime Matsuoka; this 10-page booklet has been called the earliest textbook of anaesthesia in the world. The work provides detailed instructions on the administration of ''mafutsuto'' (also known as ''tsusensan''
)—a herbal cocktail developed by Seishu Hanaoka to induce anaesthesia—including
pre-operative care
Preoperative care refers to health care provided before a surgical operation. The aim of preoperative care is to do whatever is right to increase the success of the surgery.
At some point before the operation the health care provider will assess t ...
, contraindications for the procedure and methods for assessing the depth of anaesthesia. Contemporary surgeons used ''Mafutsuto-Ron'' to guide their practice, and it inspired later Japanese texts on general anaesthesia.
In 1840 Gendai published a surgical casebook titled ''Gekakihai-zufu'' (''Illustrations of Surgical Cases''), which contains some of the earliest known illustrations of surgery under anaesthesia;
and ''Mafutsuto-Ron'' would later form the first volume of Gendai's ten-volume ''Gekakihai'' (''Book on Surgical Treatment''), published in 1851
or 1854.
Gendai also published books on anatomical illustration and the treatment of sword wounds,
and taught over 300 medical students. He died in 1854
or 1855.
Notes
References
External links
Full text of ''Mafutsuto-Ron'' in English and Japanese
18th-century Japanese physicians
1794 births
1855 deaths
1854 deaths
Japanese surgeons
Japanese medical writers
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