INDIFFERENCE TO PAIN.
A very curious thing about the Chinese is their indifference to pain. A great deal of surgical work is done In the great city hospital conducted by the united missions at Canton, and it was at first- supposed that there would be endless trouble in persuading the natives to take anaesthetics, but the doctors found, to their surprise, that anaesthetics were rarely needed, ami that their patients endured the most serious operations without flinching the fraction of an inch. The average Chinese will assume the required position and hold it like a statue. When the knife touches his flesh he begins a slight, monotonous moan and keeps it up until the ordeal is over, but he gives no other indication of pain. Whether this is due to nerve-lfluntness or sto’cism, or a combination of both, I have never been able to determine, but the fact remains that the Canton hospital uses less chloroform or ether than any other large institution of the kind on earth.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZGRAP19000217.2.51
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIV, Issue VII, 17 February 1900, Page 315
Word Count
168INDIFFERENCE TO PAIN. New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIV, Issue VII, 17 February 1900, Page 315
Using This Item
See our copyright guide for information on how you may use this title.
Acknowledgements
This material was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries. You can find high resolution images on Kura Heritage Collections Online.
Log in