In the nineteenth century, introduction of the first inhaled general anaesthetic (Long, 1842) induced a further search for new types of anaesthesia: carbon dioxide, petroleum ether, derivatives of ethylene, acetone, methyl dichloride, and the study of a new technique-hypnosis. Only chloroform, ether, nitrous oxide were used. Towards the end of the century, ether became the mainstay of inhaled anaesthetics. The other routes of administering anaesthetics (rectal, venous, spinal, local) appeared around 1860.
19世纪，第一种吸入式全身麻醉剂的引入（朗，1842年）引发了对新型麻醉方法的进一步探索：二氧化碳、石油醚、乙烯衍生物、丙酮、二氯甲烷，以及一种新技术——催眠术的研究。当时仅使用了氯仿、乙醚和一氧化二氮。到世纪末，乙醚成为吸入式麻醉剂的主流。其他麻醉给药途径（直肠、静脉、脊髓、局部）大约在1860年出现。
