Bowie Cutaway Collection

WLMD ID: akhm, akhn, akho

In 1953, Mr. Eddie Bowie was recruited by the University of Chicago to assist Dr. Ernst Trier Morch in the development of the Morch Respirator. He went on to manage the equipment division of the University's Anesthesia and Critical Care Department. A skilled machinist, he dissected apparatus to learn it inside out. Mr. Bowie was asked to teach anesthesia students and residents the safe use of anesthesia machines at the University, and other medical schools around the country. In 1985, he co-authored a book about the operation of anesthesia machines. Upon his retirement, he donated his collection to the WLM. Here are three examples of his exquisite craftsmanship.

Copper Kettle Vaporizer

Dr. Lucien E. Morris introduced his Copper Kettle Vaporizer in 1952. It was the first vaporizer to permit precise control over the concentration of volatile anesthetics. This is a dissection of the model calibrated for ether.

Pressure Relief Valve

As waste gases are removed from the anesthesia machine, they pass through a "pop-off" valve that prevents the buildup of excessive pressure. This dissection shows the spring-loaded safety mechanism.

Oxygen Valve

Gases are attached to anesthesia machines by means of a pin-indexed valve at the top of the cylinder. This is a dissection of an oxygen valve, seated in the matching yoke that would hold it in place on the machine.

Catalog Record: Bowie Cutaway Collection

Catalog Records for three items: Bowie Cutaway of the Copper Kettle (akhm), a Pressure Relief Valve (akhn), and an Oxygen Valve (or a hanger yoke and cylinder valve, akho).

Access Key: akhm
Accession No.: 2000-01-25-2 AO

Title: [Cutaway model of a] copper kettle.

Author: Morris, Lucien E. (Ellis), 1914-2011.
Author: Bowie, Eddie.
Corporate Author: Foregger Company.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Bowie cutaway copper kettle.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Dissected Foregger copper kettle vaporizer on clear plastic base.

Publisher: [Place of manufacture not indicated] : Foregger, [1965-1980].

Physical Descript: 1 model : copper, steel, Acrylic, glass, paint ; 20 x 9.5 x 16 cm.

Subject: Teaching Materials – instrumentation.
Subject: Anesthesiology – education.
Subject: Nebulizers and Vaporizers – instrumentation.

Note Type: General
Notes: Title based on markings on object with descriptive words added. Descriptive
words came from a publication by Mr. Eddie Bowie, “The Anesthesia Machine:
Essentials for Understanding.”; The first year in the date range (1965) for
the possible year of manufacture is based on when Foregger began to
manufacture the Copper Kettle with a side filling port . The last year in the
date range is based on a generous estimation of the latest year this
particular Copper Kettle could have been manufactured and the latest year
that Mr. Eddie Bowie is likely to have made a cutaway model of it. The date
range indicates the possible year of manufacture of the Copper Kettle, not
the year that Mr. Bowie altered the vaporizer into a teaching model; Bowie
altered the two into a teaching model; Mr. Bowie began to construct cutaway
models in 1971; The date range could change if documentation indicates the
range should be corrected.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Bowie E, Huffman LM. The Anesthesia Machine: Essentials for Understanding.
USA: Ohmeda; 1985.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dorsch JA, Dorsch SE. Vaporizers. In: Understanding Anesthesia Equipment:
Construction, Care and Complications. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Company;
1997:104-106.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Morris LE. Copper kettle revisited. Anesthesiology. 2006;104(4):881-884.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Morris LE. A new vaporizer for liquid anesthetic agents. Anesthesiology.
1952;13(6):587-593.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Sands RP, Bacon DR. The Copper Kettle: A historical perspective. J Clin
Anesth. 1996;8(6):528-532.

Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: A Copper Kettle vaporizer with a side (or back) filling port; The side of the
vaporizer as well as parts of the Porex Disc and Loving Cup have been cut
away to expose the inner workings; The internal inlet tube has been painted
green and the discharge tube has been removed to expose the inside opening of
the filling port; The heavy model sits on a circular acrylic base so that the
drain, inlet port and outlet port are visible; on the outside of the
vaporizer, manufacturer markings are on a light blue plate that surrounds the
fill window; Markings include, “FOREGGER”, “COPPER KETTLE” and a scale on the
right side of the window that begins at 20 and increases in increments of 20
to 140 “C.C.” The is one increment mark approximately 20 cc’s above the 140
mark that is labeled, “DO NOT EXCEED”; The maker of the temperature scale
that protrudes from the vaporizer above the filling window is, ASHCROFT”; The
temperature scale is marked in increments of one degree Celsius from 0 to 50;
The increments are numbered from 0 to 50 at every 5 degrees.

Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch on January 15, 2013.

Note Type: Acquisition
Notes: Donated to the WLM by Mr. Eddie Bowie.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: Anesthesiologists use anesthesia machines to administer precise amounts of
inhalation anesthetics to patients and to support or sustain breathing during
anesthesia. So that they may troubleshoot any unexpected problem,
anesthesiologists must know how the machines work. Modern anesthesia machines
are complex medical devices, and learning how they function can be very
challenging. In 1971, after more than 15 years of teaching students and
residents of the University of Chicago how to safely operative anesthesia
machines, Mr. Eddie Bowie began to create “cutaway” models from actual pieces
of equipment used in machines. These models provided a look inside the
functional parts of anesthesia machines and dramatically aided the learning
process. Some of his models were incorporated into successful displays
exhibited at annual meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: When used with its accompanying anesthetic delivery circuit, the Copper
Kettle was the first vaporizer to permit very fine control over the
concentration of an administered volatile anesthetic. It was designed by
Lucien E. Morris, MD around 1952. The cutaway model described here exposes
the specially designed disk, called the Porex Disc, which caused the carrier
gas to move through the volatile anesthetic in very fine bubbles. This
increased the surface area for liquid-to-gas interface. The fine
bubble-through combined with the heat conducting property of the copper
construction produced reliable vapor saturation.

Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Displayed in the museum gallery in the “New York” display from February 2000
to October 2010; Displayed in the museum gallery with regulated inhalers
beginning May, 2011; Chosen for the WLM website (noted June 10, 2013).

Access Key: akhn
Accession No.: 2000-01-25-1 AE

Title: [Cutaway model of a pressure relief valve.]

Author: Bowie, Eddie.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Bowie pressure reducing valve cutaway.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Dissected pop-off valve assembly on acrylic stand.

Publisher: [Place of manufacture not indicated] : Manufacturer not indicated], [1960-1990].

Physical Descript: 1 model : metals, plastics, paint ; 27.5 x 12.5 x 9 cm.

Subject: Teaching Materials – instrumentation.
Subject: Anesthesiology – education.
Subject: Equipment Safety – methods.

Note Type: General
Notes: Cataloger constructed title based on input from the WLM Museum Registrar and
descriptive words in a publication by Mr. Eddie Bowie, “The Anesthesia
Machine: Essentials for Understanding.” The broad date range for the possible
date of manufacture is based on limited information. The date range could
change if reliable information indicates that the range should be corrected.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Bowie E, Huffman LM. The Anesthesia Machine: Essentials for Understanding.
USA: Ohmeda; 1985.

Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: A pressure relief valve, with in-line tubing below the valve, fixed to a
display stand made of an opaque acrylic; One side of the valve and in-line
tube is cut away to reveal the inner workings and the direction of the flow
of gas; Some parts of the model are painted blue; Inside of the valve housing
a thin metal, spring loaded pressure valve is exposed; Above this is a thin
sheet of silicone; The valve is topped by a clear plastic dome and a rotating
lever; On the back of the in-line tube are some manufacturer markings, which
include, “710”, “L”, “B”, and “C”.

Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch on January 15, 2013.

Note Type: Acquisition
Notes: Donated to the WLM by Mr. Eddie Bowie.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: Anesthesiologists use anesthesia machines to administer precise amounts of
inhalation anesthetics to patients and to support or sustain breathing during
anesthesia. So that they may troubleshoot any unexpected problem,
anesthesiologists must know how the machines work. Modern anesthesia machines
are complex medical devices, and learning how they function can be very
challenging. In 1971, after more than 15 years of teaching students and
residents of the University of Chicago how to safely operative anesthesia
machines, Mr. Eddie Bowie began to create “cutaway” models from actual pieces
of equipment used in machines. These models provided a look inside the
functional parts of anesthesia machines and dramatically aided the learning
process. Some of his models were incorporated into successful displays
exhibited at annual meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: For safety and quality assurance, anesthesia machines are constructed with
pressure relief valves of various types of construction. A pressure relief
valve may also be referred to as a pop-off valve, safety relief valve,
pressure reducing valve, or pressure limiting valve. The purpose of the valve
depends upon its location in the machine’s systems. Often they are employed
to ensure a constant flow and pressure of gas as it is delivered to the
patient or to the next functional part of the machine. The cutaway model
described here allows a view into the inner workings of the valve, which
includes a spring loaded disc mechanism.

Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Chosen for the WLM website (noted June 10, 2013).

Access Key: akho
Accession No.: 2000-01-25-2 AL

Title: [Cutaway model of a hanger yoke and cylinder valve.]

Author: Bowie, Eddie.
Corporate Author: Puritan Compressed Gas Corporation.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Bowie cutaway Puritan oxygen tank.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Dissected top of Puritan size E oxygen cylinder, with valve.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Oxygen valve.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Hanger yoke and oxygen cylinder valve.

Publisher: [Place of manufacture not indicated] : Puritan, [1946?].

Physical Descript: 1 model : iron, steel, other metals, plastic, paint ; 21.5 x 14 x 11 cm.

Subject: Teaching Materials – instrumentation.
Subject: Oxygen – instrumentation.
Subject: Anesthesiology – education.
Subject: Equipment Safety – methods.

Note Type: General
Notes: Cataloger constructed title based on descriptive words in a publication by Mr
Eddie Bowie, “The Anesthesia Machine: Essentials for Understanding.” The
date indicates the year of manufacture of the oxygen tank, not the year of
manufacture of the accompanying yoke or the year that Mr. Bowie altered the
two into a teaching model; Mr. Bowie began to construct cutaway models in
1971; The date range could change if documentation indicates the range should
be corrected.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Bowie E, Huffman LM. The Anesthesia Machine: Essentials for Understanding.
USA: Ohmeda; 1985.

Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: The upper 13 cm of an iron oxygen tank, with part of the side of the cylinder
valve cut away to reveal the inner valve; A hanger yoke is loosely attached,
and one side of the hanger yoke is cut away to reveal the check valve and the
pin-index system in place; The ends of the T-handle are topped with spherical
knobs painted green; A manufacturing mark on the cylinder valve reads,
“”PURITAN”; One side of the tank is marked with a series of codes and a
symbol, including, “I CC-3A2015 [new line] 112047 [new line] H [the “H” is in
a U.S. Highway symbol, new line] PCGCO (the “PCGCO” indicates that Puritan
Medical Products is the manufacturer, new line] 9 H 46 [the “H” is in another
symbol – a concave hexagon that resembles an hourglass]; (Generally, the line
which contains “9 H 46” indicates the date (September, 1946) that the
cylinder was manufactured or the date of initial hydrostatic testing);
Markings on the other side of the tank include, “1 P54 [new line] G [new
line] 1 [1 in a symbol] 59”.

Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch on January 15, 2013.

Note Type: Acquisition
Notes: Donated to the WLM by Mr. Eddie Bowie.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: Anesthesiologists use anesthesia machines to administer precise amounts of
inhalation anesthetics to patients and to support or sustain breathing during
anesthesia. So that they may troubleshoot any unexpected problem,
anesthesiologists must know how the machines work. Modern anesthesia machines
are complex medical devices, and learning how they function can be very
challenging. In 1971, after more than 15 years of teaching students and
residents of the University of Chicago how to safely operative anesthesia
machines, Mr. Eddie Bowie began to create “cutaway” models from actual pieces
of equipment used in machines. These models provided a look inside the
functional parts of anesthesia machines and dramatically aided the learning
process. Some of his models were incorporated into successful displays
exhibited at annual meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: Sometimes oxygen and other gases are supplied to the anesthesia machine from
a wall source connected to a hospital pipeline system, and sometimes oxygen
is supplied from a gas cylinder connected to the machine via a hanger yoke.
Gas cylinders and hanger yokes are designed with a safety pin-index system,
so that only oxygen cylinders can be connected to yokes made for oxygen, and
only nitrous oxide (N2O) cylinders can be used on yokes made for N2O. The
same goes for other gases. This safety design prevents a carbon dioxide
cylinder from being used on a yoke intended to deliver oxygen. The cutaway
model described here reveals not only the pin-index system but also the inner
valve of the oxygen cylinder and the check valve within the yoke.

Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Chosen for the WLM website (noted June 10, 2013).