Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"There are moments in medical history when science morphs into magic. Few are as vivid as Oct. 16, 1846, the day Gilbert Abbott, a Boston printer, walked into Massachusetts General Hospital, lay down on a surgical table and, after breathing in a mysterious chemical called ether, became the first human being to go under the knife without feeling a shred of pain." (Lead paragraph of "Taking a New Look at Pain", by Claudia Kalb, Newsweek 19 May 2003