'ESO' chloroform apparatus, Oxford, England, 1945

Made:
1945 in Oxford
'E.S.O

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'E.S.O
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

"E.S.O." chloroform apparatus with steel case and khaki satchel, designed by Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics for parachute troops in World War Two, made by Longworth Scientific Instrument Co., 1945

During the Second World War, very large amounts of medical and surgical equipment, including anaesthetic equipment needed by Allied troops, had to be transported to the battlefield.

Developed at Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics at Oxford University, the ESO (Epstein Suffolk Oxford) machine was designed to be able to withstand a parachute drop. Once set up, a patient was anaesthetised when chloroform vapours were inhaled through a mouthpiece. The machine was developed by Hans G Epstein (b. 1909) and S F Suffolk in 1942 and made by Longworth Scientific Instrument Co.

Details

Category:
Emergency Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A630964
Materials:
steel, rubber, canvas (khaki), paint, glass, plastic (unidentified), textile and iron
Measurements:
overall (case): 325 mm x 330 mm x 350 mm, 4.93 kg
overall (main apparatus): 270 mm x 267 mm x 160 mm, 5.614 kg
overall (main tube): 1120 mm 30 mm,
type:
inhaler
credit:
Hoffmann, J. (John) Instr. and Equipment