Junker's inhaler for bichloride of methylene or chloroform anaesthesia, cased, early type, by Krohne and Sesemann, London, 1867-1880

Ferdinand Ethelbert Junker (1828-1901) (sometimes spelt Ferdinand Adalbert Juncker) invented this type of inhaler in 1867. It was to be used with bichloride of methylene or chloroform as the anaesthetic. A graduated bottle of liquid anaesthetic in a leather case that hung from the anaesthetist’s lapel was connected to a hand pump, which was used to push air into the bottle. The vapour this created passed along rubber tubing to a face mask. This ‘blow over’ or ‘bubble through’ technique became one of the most popular for giving anaesthetics. It could be used to regulate the dosage easily but care had to be taken when connecting for use – if incorrectly put together the patient could swallow liquid chloroform.