[History of Tracheal Intubation: 1. First Application of Tracheal Intubation during General Anesthesia]

The earliest report of tracheal intubation during general anesthesia was made by Sir. William Macewen (a Scottish surgeon, 1848-1924), who performed it on 5th July, 1878. The report, which was published in the British Medical Journal in 1880, included four cases of tracheal intubation, and in one of those, general anes- thesia was provided. Macewen performed tracheal intubation, instead of tracheostomy, in a patient sched- uled for resection of a large epithelioma in the mouth under general anesthesia, to prevent airway obstruc- tion and aspiration of blood. In the report, he described several advantages of tracheal intubation during gen- eral anesthesia and methods with which aspiration of blood can be prevented.