James Tayloe Gwathmey, M.D. (September 10, 1862—February 11, 1944) was an American physician and the first president of the American Association of Anesthetics (now the
International Anesthesia Research Society).
A pioneer of early anesthetic devices for medical use, he co-authored the first comprehensive textbook on the subject of medical anesthetics, titled ''Anesthesia'', which was published in 1914.
For this and other contributions to
anesthesiology
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...
, which included innovations in administering anesthetics to war wounded and in
obstetrics, Gwathmey was hailed at the time of his death as the "Father of Modern Anesthesia."
Biography
Early life
Gwathmey was born on September 10, 1862, at
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:
Places Canada
*Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista”
*Buena Vista, Saskatchewan
*Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
, the childhood home of his mother, Mary Lavinia Tayloe, daughter of
George Plater Tayloe
George Plater Tayloe ( October 15, 1804 – Apr 18, 1897) was a Virginia businessman, soldier and legislator who also served as one of the original trustees of Hollins University.
Early life
George Tayloe was born October 15, 1804, at Mount Airy ...
and Mary Elizabeth Langhorne.
He was a student at the Norfolk Male Academy and later attended the
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
.
The third year of his college education was marked by multiple citations for bad behavior, including exhibiting "culpable neglect of his duties and studies" and "an air of careless indifference", going to a billiards saloon without authorization, and of throwing a brick into a subprofessor's window.
This last infraction led to his expulsion from V.M.I. on December 8, 1887.
While at the Institute, he had become very interested in acrobatics, so after his dismissal he left to join an acrobatic troupe that he traveled with for two years.
Following this, he taught gymnastics at the YMCA first in Des Moines, Iowa, and then in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1890, Gwathmey moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, where he founded and led the Summer School for Higher Culture at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
.
During his time at the school, Gwathmey became president of the Bicycle Club, was Director of the Gymnasium and Instructor in Physical Exercise, and was the faculty advisor to the Chi Chapter of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.
He thought about pursuing a career in the ministry before enrolling at the
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is a graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University located in Nashville, Tennessee. Located in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the southeastern side of the Vanderbilt University campus, the ...
, where he earned his M.D. in 1899.
Gwathmey was a lifelong devotee to athletics and acrobatics and in 1915 published the book ''Tumbling for Amateurs''.
Career
In 1902, several years after he finished medical school, Gwathmey moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and started practicing medicine.
During this first year in New York, Gwathmey completed training in surgery and anesthesia at the
New York Skin and Cancer Hospital
NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
.
At the time, medical specialists whose sole job was to administer anesthesia did not exist, and as a resident Gwathmey practiced giving anesthesia alongside the rest of his training.
While at the hospital, he made improvements on the Bennett Inhaler, an early self-administered chloroform device.
Gwathmey, not wanting to accrue personal gain from the design or sale of his medical instruments, refused to receive money from or patent this and his later devices.
With his training complete in 1903, Gwathmey initially practiced both dermatology and anesthesia.
His mastery of the design of anesthesia apparatuses and of the administration of the drugs, coupled with the dearth of trained anesthetists at the time, led him to quickly transition to practicing anesthesiology full-time.
Gwathmey was among the first full-time private practice anesthesiologists in the U.S., and his actions helped to establish the field as an independent medical specialty on the same footing as the older specialties. His practice was not affiliated with any individual hospital or surgeon, instead he worked on a case-by-case basis and would send patients his own separate bill.
His writings make clear this was a deliberate choice intended to guarantee his independence and income as an anesthetist:
Handling another man’s money is both theoretically and practically wrong. When the anesthetist is paid by the surgeon, it always means the minimum fee. The anesthetist should send his bills directly to the patient, thus establishing his identity and independence. Under this system the anesthetist can stand as high in the profession and make as good a living as other physicians. There would not be many gynecologists if the general practitioners who referred patients to them also paid them for their services.
Gwathmey was also actively involved in the early organization of anesthesiology as a specialty around this time. He was a founding member of the Long Island Society of Anesthetists, established in 1905.
This organization expanded its scope on October 28, 1911, to become the New York Society of Anesthetists (which later expanded to a national level as the
American Society of Anesthesiologists
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and to improve patient care.
As of 2021, the organizat ...
), in which Gwathmey served as the second president.
He was a primary force behind the establishment of the first national organization of anesthetists. On June 12, 1912, the American Association of Anesthetists was incorporated and elected James T. Gwathmey as its first president.
The innovations that Gwathmey imparted to the practice of anesthesia during the beginning of the 20th century were several. For one, he proposed using combinations of anesthetic agents during the same case.
He also was a proponent of tailoring the choice of anesthetic to the particular patient and situation,
ridiculing physicians who would only ever use a single method:
How foolish, then, for one to suggest or recommend this or that special anesthetic or method, as, for example, ether by the drop method. This seems like an attempt to fit the anesthetic to the anesthetist and not to the patient. Those who recommend the drop method exclusively would be satisfied with an orchestra of one piece and this one piece to have but one string.
Gwathmey also developed an ether-oil anesthesia cocktail that would be given to patients rectally and was frequently used in obstetrics.
He made refinements on a 1911 nitrous oxide-oxygen Boothby-Cotton anesthesia respirator, making adjustments that allowed the operator to estimate the amount of anesthetic gases remaining as well as reducing the weight of the instrument from 50 lbs (22.7 kg) to 14.5 lbs (6.6 kg).
Writing with New York chemist Dr.
Charles Baskerville
Charles Baskerville (July 18, 1870 – January 28, 1922) was an American chemist. He announced the discovery of two new elements which claimed to have separated from thorium. Carolinium and berzelium later were identified to be identical with ...
, Gwathmey detailed his contributions and research within the first complete compilation of the medical knowledge of anesthesiology in the 1914 textbook titled ''Anesthesia.''
When the United States became a belligerent in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Gwathmey served in Europe as a captain in the medical branch of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
.
He advised both the French and British armies on the use of anesthesia,
and his nitrous oxide-oxygen apparatus was frequently used to treat soldiers who were wounded in the conflict.
Upon the conclusion of hostilities, Gwathmey returned to his New York practice.
He remained active in academic medicine for the rest of his life, publishing 113 papers in medical journals and revising his textbook.
His passion for learning and improving the practice of anesthesiology was not diminished in old age. He continued to attend the national meetings on anesthesia into his 70s.
A colleague describes how Gwathmey decided to master the details of giving spinal anesthesia - this in 1934, when Gwathmey was 72 years old.
It was only in 1939 that Gwathmey retired from clinical practice due to his severe bronchial asthma and coronary heart disease.
James Tayloe Gwathmey died on February 11, 1944, at the
Veterans Administration
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
Hospital in
Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Family
James T. Gwathmey was the third of six sons for mother Mary Lavinia Tayloe and his father William Watts Gwathmey.
His father's side of the family was descended from Owen Gwathmey, who fled to Virginia from Wales in the 1600s.
His mother was part of an old and respected Virginia family which carried a history of military and community service, The Tayloe's of
Mount Airy.
He married Margaret L. Riddle, a Nashville resident, in 1890, although the marriage ended in divorce.
Gwathmey had one daughter, Mary Tayloe Gwathmey, and one son, William Riddle Gwanthmey, who was a captain in the British Army.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwathmey, James Tayloe
American anesthesiologists
1862 births
1944 deaths
People from Roanoke, Virginia
American physicians