Hanaoka Seishū

Hanaoka Seishū (1760–1835) was a Japanese physician who developed an herbal general anesthetic and used it during surgery, including a successful breast cancer operation in 1804.

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Tsūsensan: An oral herbal anesthetic developed by Hanaoka Seishū, made from several plant ingredients. This formula produced the unconsciousness used in Hanaoka’s operations.
Mastectomy: Surgical removal of all or part of a breast, commonly to treat breast cancer. Hanaoka used his anesthetic for a breast removal in 1804.
Edo-period medicine: Medical practice in Japan during the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868. Hanaoka worked within this era’s institutions, knowledge, and restrictions.
History of anesthesia: The development of methods and drugs that prevent pain and awareness during medical procedures. Hanaoka’s 1804 operation is a major early milestone in this history.
Datura metel: A toxic plant containing tropane alkaloids, including scopolamine and atropine. Its leaves supplied potent alkaloids to Hanaoka’s anesthetic mixture.
Breast cancer: A malignant disease arising from cells in breast tissue. The disease was the reason for Hanaoka’s celebrated 1804 operation.
Kōyō-ryū: A Japanese school of surgery associated with Hanaoka Seishū and his medical lineage. Its teachings formed part of the surgical tradition Hanaoka inherited and developed.
Crawford Long: An American physician who used ether anesthesia in surgery in 1842. His later ether operation is often cited in accounts of anesthesia’s development.
Scopolamine: A tropane alkaloid drug that can cause sedation, amnesia, and anticholinergic effects. It helps explain the mixture’s sedative action and its dangerous toxicity.
Kan Aiya: A Japanese woman treated by Hanaoka Seishū for breast cancer in 1804. She is identified in accounts as the patient in his successful operation.