Buchanan Airway
Introduced in 1926, this airway was one of several devices invented by Dr. Thomas Drysdale Buchanan (1876-1940). The rubber tube was placed over the tongue and into the pharynx (the opening at the back of the mouth), providing a clear passage through which anesthetized patients could breathe. The metal fitting at the other end was designed to be connected to an anesthesia apparatus, such as the Ben Morgan Machine.
Dr. Buchanan was the first full-time professor of anesthesia in the United States. He taught at the New York Homeopathic Medical School from 1903 to 1914, and at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School from 1919 to 1940. He served as President of the New York Society of Anesthetists (NYSA) in 1914, and was a leader in numerous other professional societies. He chaired the committee that led the way to NYSA’s reorganization as a national society, the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He was also instrumental in the creation of the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). He served as the ABA’s first Chairman from 1938 to 1940.
Catalog Record: Buchanan Airway Buchanan Airway
Access Key: akws
Accession No.: 82
Title: [ Buchanan oral-pharyngeal rebreathing tube.]
Author: Buchanan, Thomas D. (Drysdale), 1876-1940.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Buchanan airway.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Buchanan pharyngeal inhalation tube.
Publisher: [New York] : Foregger, [between 1925 and 1959?].
Physical Description: 1 oropharyngeal airway : metals, rubber ; 2.5 x 6.5 x 15.5 cm.
Subject: Oropharyngeal Airway Devices.
Subject: Airway Management – instrumentation.
Web Link: http://woodlibrarymuseum.org/museum/item/760/buchanan-airway
Note Type: General
Notes: The early date in the date range for the possible year of manufacture is based on the year of the publication in which Dr. Buchanan first mentioned the airway. The end date is based on the date of the last catalog in which this airway is listed (It is in the 1959 Foregger catalog held by the WLM but not in the 1960 catalog).
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Anesthesia and Oxygen Appliances. New York: The Foregger Company, Inc., 1926:62.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Buchanan TD. A method of anesthesia for operations on the head and neck. Am J Surg. April, 1925;39(anesth suppl):50.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Catalog No. 15. New York: The Foregger Company, Inc., 1959:94.
Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One red rubber and metal oropharyngeal airway; The measurements are based on a patient’s perspective; The red rubber tube is curved and hard from age; Its diameter measures approximately 2 cm and it has a long beveled opening at the pharyngeal (proximal) end; The distal end of the rubber tube connects to a metal rectangular piece that opens to a metal tube, which is closed on the patient’s right and extends about 4 cm on the patient’s left; The diameter of this exterior tube at its opening is approximately 1 cm; On this external tube near the opening is a manufacturer’s mark, “FOREGGER”.
Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch, September 18, 2013.
Note Type: Historical
Notes: Introduced in 1926, this airway was one of several devices invented by Dr. Thomas Drysdale Buchanan (1876-1940). The rubber tube was placed over the tongue and into the pharynx (the opening at the back of the mouth), providing a clear passage through which anesthetized patients could breathe. The metal fitting at the other end was designed to be connected to an anesthesia apparatus, such as the Ben Morgan Machine.
Dr. Buchanan was the first full-time professor of anesthesia in the United States. He taught at the New York Homeopathic Medical School from 1903 to 1914, and at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School from 1919 to 1940. He served as President of the New York Society of Anesthetists (NYSA) in 1914, and was a leader in numerous other professional societies. He chaired the committee that led the way to NYSA’s reorganization as a national society, the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He was also instrumental in the creation of the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). He served as the ABA’s first Chairman from 1938 to 1940.
Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website.
