Surgeons' contribution to Japanese anesthesiology

The Japanese Museum of Anesthesiology states that Dr. Michinosuke Amano published the first Japanese textbook of anesthesiology in 1953. Dr. Amano completed formal anesthesiology training at the University of Chicago in 1952 as a Government Account for Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) scholar and published his textbook the following year. His book was undoubtedly the first Japanese anesthesiology textbook authored by a fully trained anesthesiologist. Until anesthesiology was established as an independent medical specialty in the 1950s, anesthesia was typically administered by surgeons. Their knowledge of anesthetic practice was largely acquired through chapters on anesthesia in general surgery textbooks. However, a book devoted entirely to anesthesiology was published in 1940 by Dr. Seiji Tsuda, then Professor of Surgery at Okayama Medical College. His book was revised in 1947 and 1957. Although Prof. Tsuda was not trained as an anesthesiologist, his books marked an important step toward recognizing anesthesiology as a distinct specialty. This manuscript reviews Prof. Tsuda's 1940 book and its subsequent revisions, and discusses their historical significance as foundational contributions to Japanese anesthesiology at a time when the specialty had not yet emerged as an independent discipline.