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BACKGROUND: Injections are part of the arsenal of all medical disciplines. In addition to this common ground, each specialty has its own particular aspects; the historical development of these are presented here with respect to otorhinolaryngology. INTRAVENOUS INJECTIONS: The first experiments with intravenous injections were carried out in 1642 by a gentleman's hunting servant in eastern Germany. Similar experiments were done in 1656 by Christopher Wren, the astronomer, mathematician, and architect in Oxford, England, and a group of scientists around the physicist Robert Boyle. These experiments were prompted by new knowledge about blood circulation provided by William Harvey in 1628. The first books on the applications of intravenous infusions in humans were published in Germany by Major 1664 (Chirurgia Infusoria) and Elsholtz 1667 (Clysmatica Nova). Bladders of animals or enema syringes were used as instruments. Because of lethal accidents the infusions soon fell from favour. Köhler in Germany in 1776 eliminated a large bolus impacted in a patient's esophagus by an intravenous infusion of tartar emetic thus inducing violent vomiting. After this crucial experiment, foreign bodies in the esophagus were the most important indication for applying intravenous injections until Killian introduced extraction by esophagoscopy in 1990. CALIBRATED SYRINGES AFTER PRAVAZ: The French surgeon C. Pravaz in Lyon in 1853 invented a small syringe, the piston of which could be driven by a screw thus allowing exact dosage. A sharp needle with a pointed trocar could be introduced into the vessel making a dissection unnessessary. Pravaz used his syringe for obliteration of arterial aneurysms by injection of ferric sesquichlorate. Pravaz's syringe initiated the invention of a great number of various calibrated syringes made of glass or metal combined with glass. SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION AND LOCAL ANAESTHESIA: The calibrated syringes were commonly used in the treatment of syphilis by mercurialization. In otorhinolaryngology, they had and still have their primary application in local anaesthesia, which was introduced by Carl Ludwig Schleich in Berlin in 1892. PARAFFIN-INJECTIONS: Around 1900 the injection of liquid paraffin for closing defects in subcutaneous tissues came into use (Gersuny in Vienna, Delangre in Tournai). This technique was immediately applied to rhinological indications such as a saddle nose (Stein 1901). This gave rise to the invention of special syringes and modifications of paraffin with different hardness and melting points. Around the middle of this century, paraffin was abandoned for this application because of serious complications, and new substances were introduced such like teflon, silicone and collagen. The historical development of these techniques of injections is described in details with many literature citations and figures.
Anatomy, nomenclature, first clinical observations: In ancient Greece and Rome and in the Middle Ages the posterior opening of the nasal passage was known (Greek "choane" = funnel) as an atomical structure, and it was also known that chronic nasal catarrh is common in children, but it was not realized that this was associated with special pathological alterations. The anatomist H. von Luschka in Tübingen, Germany, was the first to describe the nasopharynx in detail, and he coined the term "pharyngeal tonsil." The otologists of the 19th century like Kramer and Toynbee had placed the Eustachian tube in the center of their investigations and carried out numerous dissections with demonstration of the tubal orifice. They also knew that middle ear infections usually originated in the nasopharynx, but they did not realize that the hypertrophic pharyngeal tonsil was the cause. Posterior rhinoscopy and the diagnosis of the hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil: Czermak in Budapest in 1860 had invented posterior rhinoscopy, and he was the first to diagnose hypertrophic alterations around the tubal orifice and the first to realize that they were the cause of tubal malfunction. Wilhelm Meyer in Kopenhagen in 1868 and 1873-1874 described hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil ("adenoid vegetations") in detail and associated this finding with a syndrome characterized by mouth-breathing, snoring, a typical facial expression, deafness, recurring middle-ear affections, and characteristic alterations of speech. He based his conclusions on 5 years' experience with 175 observations in his office and on examination of 2700 children in Denmark and England. Surgical therapy of adenoid vegetations: Voltolini in Breslau in 1865 had observed a few cases of hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil, and he was the first to treat them by galvanic cauterization. Meyer developed various instruments for reducing the pharyngeal tonsil. They were introduced through the nose while the application of the instrument was assisted digitally via the mouth and pharynx. The operation of the pharyngeal tonsil was adopted very eagerly by a great number of nasal surgeons. Among the numerous special instruments that subsequently were invented the most promising was the ring knife invented by Gottstein in 1886. Anesthesia and positioning: The pioneers of this intervention, Voltolini, Meyer, Semon and others, all operated without any anesthesia, but they usually would need up to 12 sessions (Semon) until the pharyngeal tonsil had been sufficiently reduced. Beckmann in Berlin, who had invented a modification of Gottstein's ring knife, reported in 1897 on more than 5000 cases in which he had removed the adenoids in just one session, in each case without anesthesia. Besides these surgeons, others used cocaine for local anesthesia or chlorethyl or bromethyl for general anesthesia. The German surgeon Edmund Rose (Berlin and Zürich) in 1874 introduced the position with the head suspended for larger interventions like resection ot the maxilla. Rudloff in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1900 adopted this position for adenoidectomy, but this was generally accepted only after the mouth gags developed by Davis-Boyle and Negus had been introduced. The diagnostic and surgical interventions in the nasopharynx were a powerful link in the process of fusion between otology and rhinolaryngology around the turn of the century. This historical development is described in great detail with many figures and quotations from the literature.
SYRINGES WITH A PISTON AND THEIR USE AS "CLYSTER ORICULARIUS" IN THE ANCIENT ROME: Syringes with a piston were already known in ancient times and have been mentioned as a device for spraying rose water (Philon of Byzantium, about 230 BC), and for fighting fires (Heron of Alexandria about 110 AD). Celsus mentions it several times in his grand opus "De Medicina" (1st century AD) in the treatment of purulent discharge from the ear and for removing foreign bodies from the external ear canal. He always calls it "clyster oricularius", i.e. ear syringe, even when he describes its use in applications other than otological, such as in urology. Later the ear syringe fell from favor for a very long time and was reinvented only at the beginning of the 19th century. IRRIGATION OF THE BOWELS, FROM THE BAG SYRINGE TO THE PISTON SYRINGE: Irrigations of the bowels, clysters, were performed from ancient times to the 18th century with a baglike syringe using the bladder of animals as a pouch. Syringes with a piston were used by barbers and surgeons only for cleansing wounds or irrigating natural cavities of the body. Irrigation of the external ear canal had completely fallen from favor. In France in the 18th century large syringes with a piston made of tin oder brass came into use for enemas and replaced the old baglike devices. THE REINVENTION OF THE EAR SYRINGE AFTER THE PROTOTYPE OF THE ENEMA SYRINGE: Itard, an otologist in France in 1821, was the first to describe irrigating the ear with a syringe to remove hard wax. He recommended using an enema syringe ("seringue à lavement") for the procedure. Soon after his publication special ear syringes of appropriate size were developed and described by Beck in Freiburg, Germany, in 1827; by Fabrizi in Modena, Italy, 1839; and Schmalz in Dresden, Germany, 1846, who also introduced the kidney-shaped bowel for catching the water. Apart from that, small baglike syringes made of rubber were devised especially for use by the patient himself (Kramer, Berlin, 1860). This historical development is described in detail and illustrated by numerous figures.
BACKGROUND: In 1854 the Spanish singing teacher Manuel Garcia succeeded in inspecting his own larynx. In 1857 the neurologist Ludwig Türck in Vienna, without knowledge of Garcia's achievement, had been experimenting on laryngoscopy with his patients using a small mirror and sunlight. When in the winter of 1857-1858 he had to suspend his experiments for lack of sunlight, he lent his mirror to physiologist Johann Czermak in Budapest. Czermak, using artificial light reflected by a perforated mirror, developed modern laryngoscopy within a few weeks and made it a clinically valuable method. He described it in March 1858 as his own invention. This was the beginning of a an embittered fight with Türck about whose development had priority. DIAPHANOSCOPY OF THE LARYNX: During his very first studies on laryngoscopy Czermak noticed that the interior of the larynx could be inspected very well when the neck was illuminated by a strong light from without and the mirror was held in the dark pharynx. The tissue would then appear transilluminated in a glowing deep red. When sufficiently bright electric lamps became available in 1889, Rudolph Voltolini in Breslau, Germany, took up the transillumination of the larynx and even carried out some minor intralaryngeal operations using this method. Although suitable diaphanoscopes were soon on the market this technique was not widely adopted. It was ony used once in 1954 (Pellnitz et al.) for diagnosing early stages of laryngeal cancer. DIAPHANOSCOPY OF THE PARANASAL SINUSES: Voltolini in Breslau and Cozzolino in Naples experimented independently of each other with small electric lamps with the aim of finding new techniques of rhinoscopy. Both of them placed their lamp in the nasopharynx and performed anterior rhinoscopy using an ordinary speculum. However, it was only Voltolini who noticed the transillumination of the maxillary sinuses when the lamp was placed in the oral cavity. On October 29, 1888, in Breslau he demonstrated diaphanoscopy of the maxillary sinus for the first time. Cozzolino claimed that he had introduced this technique prior to Voltolini. Voltolini had died in 1889 and could not comment on this. A careful study of the original publications, however, shows that Cozzolino had only inspected the nasal cavity with retronasal illumination, but had not demonstrated the maxillary sinus by transillumination. The diaphanoscopy of the paranal sinuses was very soon elaborated to perfection: Vohse in 1890 applied it to the frontal sinuses, Gerber in 1900 invented a double diaphanoscope for examining both frontal sinuses simultaneously. Although the shortcomings of diaphanoscopy soon became apparent, the method was widely used for about half a century, but in the end could not compete with modern techniques of radiography and ultrasound. The history is related in detail and illustrated with numerous figures.
BACKGROUND ANATOMY: In ancient times the paranasal sinuses, without any anatomical differentiation, were thought to be a system of hollow spaces through which mucus produced by the brain was drained. Leonardo da Vinci in Milano in 1489 was the first to prepare and draw anatomical specimens of the paranasal sinuses; the drawings, however, only became accessible to scientific evaluation as late as 1901. N. Highmore in England in 1651 presented the first detailed description and drawing of the maxillary sinus, and hence it is named Highmore's antrum. C. V. Schneider in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1660 realized that the mucus is not a product of the brain but is produced by the mucous lining of the region itself. F. G. J. Henle in Berlin in 1841 differentiated between various epithelia and described the special function of the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract. FROM OZENA TO SINUSITIS: In ancient times the word ozena originally denoted any kind of foul breath, but in the 1st and 2nd century AD (Celsus, Galenus) the term became restricted to foul odor coming from the nose. J. Drake and W. Cowper in England in 1707 reported that in some cases ozena was due to suppuration in the maxillary sinus and could be cured by extraction of a tooth and opening the sinus via the alveolus. L. H. Runge in Rinteln, Germany in 1750 compiled a nearly complete systematic survey of all diseases localized in the maxillary sinus. EARLY STAGES OF SURGERY: A. L. B. B. Jourdain in France in 1765 tried to cure suppurations of the maxillary sinus by irrigation via the natural ostium in the middle nasal meatus, however, his method did not meet with approval. L. Lamorier in Montpellier in 1743 opened the maxillary sinus form the buccal cavity, but his paper was only published in 1768. Lamorier's method and opening the sinus via a dental alveolus remained standard procedures for a long time. K. Ziem in Danzig, Germany, in 1886 analyzed 26 cases of chronic suppurations discharging from the nose, among them his own history, and found out that they can originate from different foci and that the treatment must be centered around the relevant focus. CLASSICAL OPERATIVE PROCEDURES: J. Mikulicz-Radecki in Vienna in 1886 was the first to open the maxillary sinus from the inferior nasal meatus. G. W. Caldwell in New York in 1893 published his method: opening the canine fossa wall, removal of the mucous membrane, and opening a window in the lateral wall of the inferior nasal meatus. G. Boenninghaus in Breslau, Germany, in 1896 was the first in Europe to adopt this method, and he modified it by placing a mucosal flap in the window. Unaware of Caldwell's publication, H.-P. Luc in Paris in 1897 reported on his own operative procedure, which in fact was identical to that of Caldwell's. DEVELOPMENT DURING THE LAST 100 YEARS: The operative procedures and especially the preoperative diagnosis were continually improved so that the surgical treatment of chronic suppurations of the maxillary sinus reached a high standard. During the last decades less radical interventions using an endonasal approach by endoscopy have partly superseded the classical procedures. This development is described in great detail with literal quotations of the original papers, anecdotal details, and illustrations.
BACKGROUND: G. Cardano, physician, mathematician, and astrologer in Pavia, Italy, in 1550 described how sound may be perceived through the skull. A few years later H. Capivacci, also a physician in Padua, realized that this phenomenon might be used as a diagnostic tool for differentiating between hearing disorders located either in the middle ear or in the acoustic nerve. The German physician G. C. Schelhammer in 1684 was the first to use a common cutlery fork in further developing the experiments initiated by Cardano and Capivacci. For a long time to come, however, there was no demand for this in practical otology. THE INVENTION OF THE TUNING FORK: The tuning fork was invented in 1711 by John Shore, trumpeter and lutenist to H. Purcell and G.F. Händel in London. A picture of Händel's own tuning fork, probably the oldest tuning fork in existence, is presented here for the first time. There are a number of anecdotes connected with the inventor of the tuning fork, using plays on words involving the name Shore, and mixing up pitch-pipe and pitchfork. Some of these are related here. The tuning fork as a musical instrument soon became a success throughout Europe. THE PHYSICS OF THE TUNING FORK: The German physicist E. F. F. Chladni in Wittenberg around 1800 was the first to systematically investigate the mode of vibration of the tuning fork with its nodal points. Besides this, he and others tried to construct a complete musical instrument based on sets of tuning forks, which, however, were not widely accepted. J. H. Scheibler in Germany in 1834 presented a set of 54 tuning forks covering the range from 220 Hz to 440 Hz, at intervals of 4 Hz. J. Lissajous in Paris constructed a very elaborate tuning fork with a resonance box, which was intended to represent the international standard of the musical note A with 435 vibrations per second, but this remained controversial. K. R. Koenig, a German physicist living in Paris, invented a tuning fork which was kept in continuous vibration by a clockwork. H. Helmholtz, physiologist in Heidelberg, in 1863 used sets of electromagnetically powered tuning forks for his famous experiments on the sensations of tone. Until the invention of the electronic valve, tuning forks remained indispensible instruments for producing defined sinusoidal vibrations. The history of this development is presented in detail. The diagnostic use of the tuning fork in otology will be described in a separate article.
BACKGROUND: The etymology of the anatomical terms and their use in history are elucidated: "Tonsil" (from Latin tonsa = the oar) in use since Celsus (about 40 AD). The Greek terms of that time, "antiádes", "paristhmia", were not adopted in later medical terminology. "Amygdala" (Greek/Latin = the almond) was introduced by Vesalius in 1543. Vesalius was also the first to depict the tonsils in a specimen of the whole human body; Duverney (1761) gives the first exact depiction of the pharyngeal region. Special anatomical and histological studies of the tonsils were carried out in the 19 century. DIGITAL EXTRACTION OF THE TONSILS: Cornelius Celsus in Rome (about 40 AD) described the blunt removal of the tonsils by use of the finger. This method was favoured anew by numerous laryngologists at the beginning of the 20th century when it had been realised that a gentle enucleation of the entire tonsil including its capsule was advisable against cutting off a slice, but before long this procedure was discarded again for hygienic reasons. OPERATION WITH SNARES AND CUTTING INSTRUMENTS: Precursors of special instruments for tonsillectomy were instruments designed for shortening the uvula: uvulotomy. Paré (1564) and Scultetus (1655) devised instruments that permitted placing a thread shaped like a snare around the uvula and cutting it off by strangulation. Hildanus (1646), Scultetus (1655) and Heister (1763) presented an instrument of the guillotine-type for uvulotomy. This instrument was modified by P. S. Physick (USA 1828) and used for tonsillotomy. It became the prototype for a number of similar instruments which were to follow: W. M. F. Fahnestock (USA 1832). M. Mackenzie (London 1880), G. Sluder (USA 1911). Besides these guillotines snares were also perfected and used for tonsillotomy, e.g. by W. Brünings (1908). The concentration on tonsillotomy aimed at performing the operation as quickly as possible, especially in children, as it was not yet possible to sustain general anaesthesia for a longer period of time while doing surgery in the pharynx. The operation of the tonsils, that had been started by general surgeons, at the end of the 19th century became the domain of the otolaryngologists because they had the superior technique of illumination. Important steps of progress were later on mouth-gags combined with tongue-depressors, and placing the head in a suspended and reclined position. This position had already been advocated by Killian in 1920, but it could only be introduced after improved techniques of general anaesthesia were available. These stages of historical development are described and illustrated with many details.
Although the anatomy of the nasal muscles and the active movement of the nasal alae brought about by them, were already known in ancient times (Galenos), it was only at the end of the 19th century that the collapse of the nasal alae was recognized as a passive mechanism obstructing the inspiratory air passages. Since surgical methods for treating this condition were not available at that time, various small gadgets to be introduced into the nasal vestibulum were invented for stabilising the alae. Among these, Feldbausch's nasal dilator was the best known. It was in use up to the middle of this century, but then became completely obsolete. The history of this chapter of rhinology is related primarily by means of literal quotations of the phrases with which the authors presented their devices and praised their virtues.
One of the many interests of Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), a singularly versatile English research worker, was anthropometry, i.e. measuring and comparing physical attributes in men. Here he introduced the concept of eugenics. He thought that the upper hearing threshold for high-pitched tones might be an attribute specific to each species, and in order to prove this he devised a whistle which was later named after him. Using this instrument he found that the upper hearing threshold in animals actually differs very much with the species and that in humans it is regularly depressed with age. The relevant passages of his book Inquiries into Human Faculty of 1883 are quoted in translation. Burckhardt-Merian from Basel, Switzerland, introduced Galton's whistle into otology in 1885. Appropriate instruments were soon developed by König in Paris and Edelmann in Munich and became commercially available. Zwaardemaker in Utrecht, the Netherlands, was the first to systematically investigate hearing in the elderly using Galton's whistle, and he derived from these studies what he called the "prebyacusial law." Technical details of Galton's whistle are described with reference to Edelmann's final refined version of the instrument of 1900. During the first 30 years of this century, Galton's whistle was in wide use, but due to unavoidable inherent flaws it later gave way to the monochord and eventually to tone audiometry.