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This lesson covers the development of anaesthetics from before 1700 to 1900. Students focus on the advantages and disadvantages of each type of anaesthetic, in particular James Simpson’s discovery of chloroform but also why there was so much progress in this time.

UPDATED & RE-VAMPED CONTENT IN LINE WITH THE 2026 SPEC

The 22 slide fully resourced lesson contains activities, tasks, practice exam questions, printable resources and all background knowledge:

• Slide 1: Title slide
• Slide 2: Warm Up - What is the difference between an anaesthetic and antiseptic?
• Slide 3-4: Recap - Students have an opportunity to recap how hospitals improved in the 18th and 19th century with a printable worksheet and answers provided in the notes section of the slide.
• Slide 5-6: Starter 1 - Students are given a choice of two images which show surgery without anaesthetic before 1700. What can they infer from the images about the problems that existed without anaesthetics.
• Slide 7: Starter 2 - How would the use of local and general anaesthetics improve surgery both for the surgeon and the patient?
• Slide 8 - 9: Background information covering the types of anaesthetics used before 1700 and the work of James Simpson.
• Slide 10-12: Task 1 - Students provided with a choice of timelines to outline the development.
• Slide 13: Task 2 - Students asked to outline the benefits of early forms of anaesthetics and the dangers in a table.
• Slide 14: Challenge questions
• Slide 15: Lesson fact sheet
• Slide 16-17: Learning Review - A learning review pyramid which also includes a printable sheet.
• Slide 18-20: EXAM FOCUS - Examples of exam questions covering the topic of the lesson.
• Slide 21: A poster which outlines the factors which cause continuity and change in the topic medicine in Britain.
• Slide 22: More from RA Resources

All images used in this resource are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. Images labelled as AI are from a website from which I have a subscription and commercial licence to use the images generated. Proof of subscription available on request if needed. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.

This resource is for personal use only unless a school license is purchased and for copyright reasons any slides, worksheets, RA Resources maps or diagrams should not be copied/amended for commercial use.