Guedel Laryngoscope
A laryngoscope helps the anesthesiologist to insert a breathing tube into the patient’s trachea (windpipe). It provides a pathway to guide the tube, and a light so that the doctor can see "where she's going". Then the laryngoscope is removed, leaving the tube in place. There are many different laryngoscope designs for specific needs. For instance, for patients who wear false teeth, or who have a swollen tongue or throat. There are even designs for use by left-handed doctors.
Working with the manufacturer Richard von Foregger, Dr. Arthur E. Guedel (1883-1956) designed this laryngoscope between 1930 and 1935. The acute angle of the blade makes it easier for the anesthesiologist to watch the tube as it is inserted, and makes it easier to pull the blade up and out smoothly afterwards.
Dr. Guedel invented several other anesthesia devices, as well as the Guedel Eye Signs Chart. He also wrote a classic textbook on inhalation anesthesia. The Arthur E. Guedel Memorial Anesthesia Center, in the Health Sciences Library at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, was founded in his honor in 1963.
Catalog Record: Guedel Laryngoscope
Two Catalog Records (akwu and aldf)
Access Key: akwu
Accession No.: 2013-09-05-2
Title: [Guedel laryngoscope blade : medium] / [designed by Arthur E. Guedel].
Author: Guedel, Arthur E. (Arthur Ernest), 1883-1956.
Corporate Author: Foregger Company.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Guedel’s laryngoscope.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Medium size Guedel laryngoscope blade.
Publisher: New York : The Foregger Company, [between 1930 and 1970].
Physical Descript: 1 laryngoscope blade : metal : 7.5 x 4 x 18 cm.
Subject: Laryngoscopes – straight blades.
Subject: Intubation, Intratracheal – instrumentation.
Subject: Airway Management – instrumentation.
Subject: Airway Management Equipment.
Note Type: General
Notes: The late year in the date range is an estimate based on Foregger catalogs
from 1935-1970s. This date range is for the blade only.
Note Type: With
Notes: This blade is part of a kit that includes 1 small, 1 medium and 2 large
Guedel Laryngoscope blades; All of the blades are marked, “GUEDEL FOREGGER”;
They are held in a wooden box that is lined with blue velvet, and measures
approximately 6.5 x 41 x 24 cm (height, width, depth); A metal plate on the
front of the box is marked with, “THE FOREGGER COMPANY, INC. [new line] NEW
YORK [new line] ANESTHESIA AND OXYGEN APPLIANCES”; There are molded spaces
for the handle and for one small, 1 medium, and 1 large blade; The second
large blade does not have a molded space; It is stored in a open space in the
box next to three endotracheal tubes; The handle has the marking of another
manufacturer, “W.A. CO. Auburn, N.Y.” (Welych-Allen); “Parkland Hosp O.B.”
is hand engraved on the handle and three of the blades (1 small, 1 medium and
1 large); “Parkland Hosp O.B.” is also engraved on the top of the wooden box
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Calmes SH. Arthur Guedel, M.D., and the eye signs of anesthesia. ASA Newsl.
2002;66(9):17-19. https://www.asahq.
org/sitecore/content/Home/For%20Members/Publications%20and%20Research/Newslet
er%20Articles/2002/September2002. Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Calverley RK. Arthur E. Guedel (1883-1956). In: Rupreht J, van Lieburg MJ,
Lee JA, Keys TE, eds. Anaesthesia: Essays on Its History. Berlin:
Springer-Verlag;1985:49-53.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dripps RD, Eckenhoff JE, Vandam LD. Evaluation of the response to
anesthetics: the signs and stages. Introduction to Anesthesia: The Principles
of Safe Practice. 5th ed. 1977:231-241.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel AE. Inhalation Anesthesia: A Fundamental Guide. New York: Macmillan;
1958.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel AE. Third stage ether anesthesia: a sub-classification regarding the
significance of the position and movements of the eyeball. Am J Surg. April,
1920;34(4 anesth suppl):53-57. https://books.google.
com/books?id=nvQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed
August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel laryngoscope. In: Catalog 1935: The Foregger Company, Inc. New York:
Foregger; 1935:58.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Jones CW. The importance of the Guedel Chart. CSA Bull. Spring,
2006;55(1):75-76. https://www.csahq.org/pdf/bulletin/issue_12/Guedel.pdf.
Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One medium Guedel laryngoscope blade; Measured from the patient’s perspective
the height, width and depth are approximately 7.2 x 3.8 x 17.6 cm; The blade
is straight and is mounted so that there is an approximately 70 degree angle
between the blade and handle; The wiring for the light runs on the right,
exterior side of the spatula, and the spatula widens and curves just a bit at
the most proximal end; The light bulb is very near the proximatly end of the
blade; “GUEDEL FOREGGER” is engraved (or stamped) near the most distal part
of the blade; “Parkland Hosp O.B.” is hand engraved on the spatula.
Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Dr. Steve Donisch, September 18, 2013.
Note Type: Historical
Notes: Arthur E. Guedel (1883-1956) worked with Richard von Foregger (1872–1960), and possibly William Noah Allyn (1874-1964), on the design of this laryngoscope from around 1933 to 1935. Anesthesiologists use laryngoscopes to gently lift the tongue and tissue in the throat just enough to see the opening to the lungs. This allows for the safe insertion of an endotracheal (breathing) tube.
Most straight laryngoscope blades have a 90 degree angle to the handle. The Guedel laryngoscope blade has an acute angle of approximately 70 degrees. It was devised to work with the cuffed endotracheal tube that Dr. Guedel and Dr. Ralph M. Waters (1883-1979) introduced in 1928. As described in the 1935 Foregger catalog, it was also meant to facilitate rapid intubation (insertion of a breathing tube).
Dr. Guedel developed a number of other notable anesthesia tools, including the Guedel Oral Airway and the Guedel Chart. The chart provided a graphic representation of Dr. Guedel’s concepts of depth of anesthesia and of patient signs through the stages of ether anesthesia. He formally introduced this system of assessment to other physicians in 1919 after serving in France during WWI. He continued to study and refine his system, publishing updates and changes in articles and books. For over 50 years anesthesiologists all over the world relied on Guedel’s observable indications of the depth of ether anesthesia.
The blade was illustrated in Foregger’s 1941 patent application for new laryngoscope design features, such as a folding and detachable blade and an electrical circuit that automatically lit the bulb when the blade was pivoted into place.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: Keys TE. Historical vignettes: Dr. Arthur Ernest Guedel, 1883-1956. Anesth
Analg. 1975;54(4):442-443. https://journals.lww.
com/anesthesia-analgesia/Citation/1975/07000/HISTORICAL_VIGNETTES_.8.aspx.
Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: Thomson JC. Arthur E. Guedel (1883 – 1956): self-trained pioneer [abstract
1163]. Presented at the 2000 American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual
Meeting; October 14-18, 2000; San Francisco, California. https://www.
asaabstracts.com/strands/asaabstracts/abstract.
htm;jsessionid=43C632A735EA714F50DC2CB541AB31E1?year=2000&index=14&absnum=114
. Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website.
Access Key: aldf
Accession No.: 2013-09-05-2
Title: [Guedel laryngoscope blade : small] / [designed by Arthur E. Guedel].
Author: Guedel, Arthur E. (Arthur Ernest), 1883-1956.
Corporate Author: Foregger Company.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Guedel’s laryngoscope.
Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Small Guedel laryngoscope blade.
Publisher: New York : The Foregger Company, [between 1930 and 1970].
Physical Descript: 1 laryngoscope blade : metal : 7 x 4 x 13 cm.
Subject: Laryngoscopes – straight blades.
Subject: Intubation, Intratracheal – instrumentation.
Subject: Airway Management – instrumentation.
Subject: Airway Management Equipment.
Note Type: General
Notes: The late year in the date range is an estimate based on Foregger catalogs
from 1935-1970s. This date range is for the blade only.
Note Type: With
Notes: This blade is part of a kit that includes 1 small, 1 medium and 2 large
Guedel Laryngoscope blades; All of the blades are marked, “GUEDEL FOREGGER”;
They are held in a wooden box that is lined with blue velvet, and measures
approximately 6.5 x 41 x 24 cm (height, width, depth); A metal plate on the
front of the box is marked with, “THE FOREGGER COMPANY, INC. [new line] NEW
YORK [new line] ANESTHESIA AND OXYGEN APPLIANCES”; There are molded spaces
for the handle and for one small, 1 medium, and 1 large blade; The second
large blade does not have a molded space; It is stored in a open space in the
box next to three endotracheal tubes; The handle has the marking of another
manufacturer, “W.A. CO. Auburn, N.Y.” (Welych-Allen); “Parkland Hosp O.B.”
is hand engraved on the handle and three of the blades (1 small, 1 medium and
1 large); “Parkland Hosp O.B.” is also engraved on the top of the wooden box
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Calmes SH. Arthur Guedel, M.D., and the eye signs of anesthesia. ASA Newsl.
2002;66(9):17-19. https://www.asahq.
org/sitecore/content/Home/For%20Members/Publications%20and%20Research/Newslet
er%20Articles/2002/September2002. Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Calverley RK. Arthur E. Guedel (1883-1956). In: Rupreht J, van Lieburg MJ,
Lee JA, Keys TE, eds. Anaesthesia: Essays on Its History. Berlin:
Springer-Verlag;1985:49-53.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dripps RD, Eckenhoff JE, Vandam LD. Evaluation of the response to
anesthetics: the signs and stages. Introduction to Anesthesia: The Principles
of Safe Practice. 5th ed. 1977:231-241.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel AE. Inhalation Anesthesia: A Fundamental Guide. New York: Macmillan;
1958.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel AE. Third stage ether anesthesia: a sub-classification regarding the
significance of the position and movements of the eyeball. Am J Surg. April,
1920;34(4 anesth suppl):53-57. https://books.google.
com/books?id=nvQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed
August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Guedel laryngoscope. In: Catalog 1935: The Foregger Company, Inc. New York:
Foregger; 1935:58.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Jones CW. The importance of the Guedel Chart. CSA Bull. Spring,
2006;55(1):75-76. https://www.csahq.org/pdf/bulletin/issue_12/Guedel.pdf.
Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One small Guedel laryngoscope blade; Measured from the patient’s perspective,
the height, width and depth are approximately 7 x 3.8 x 12.6 cm; The blade is
straight and is mounted so that there is an approximately 70 degree angle
between the blade and handle; The wiring for the light runs on the right,
exterior side of the spatula, and the spatula widens and curves just a bit at
the most proximal end; The light bulb is very near the proximatly end of the
blade; “GUEDEL FOREGGER” is engraved (or stamped) near the most distal part
of the blade; “Parkland Hosp O.B.” is hand engraved on the spatula.
Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Dr. Steve Donisch, September 18, 2013.
Note Type: Historical
Notes: Arthur E. Guedel (1883-1956) worked with Richard von Foregger (1872–1960), and possibly William Noah Allyn (1874-1964), on the design of this laryngoscope from around 1933 to 1935. Anesthesiologists use laryngoscopes to gently lift the tongue and tissue in the throat just enough to see the opening to the lungs. This allows for the safe insertion of an endotracheal (breathing) tube.
Most straight laryngoscope blades have a 90 degree angle to the handle. The Guedel laryngoscope blade has an acute angle of approximately 70 degrees. It was devised to work with the cuffed endotracheal tube that Dr. Guedel and Dr. Ralph M. Waters (1883-1979) introduced in 1928. As described in the 1935 Foregger catalog, it was also meant to facilitate rapid intubation (insertion of a breathing tube).
Dr. Guedel developed a number of other notable anesthesia tools, including the Guedel Oral Airway and the Guedel Chart. The chart provided a graphic representation of Dr. Guedel’s concepts of depth of anesthesia and of patient signs through the stages of ether anesthesia. He formally introduced this system of assessment to other physicians in 1919 after serving in France during WWI. He continued to study and refine his system, publishing updates and changes in articles and books. For over 50 years anesthesiologists all over the world relied on Guedel’s observable indications of the depth of ether anesthesia.
The blade was illustrated in Foregger’s 1941 patent application for new laryngoscope design features, such as a folding and detachable blade and an electrical circuit that automatically lit the bulb when the blade was pivoted into place.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: Keys TE. Historical vignettes: Dr. Arthur Ernest Guedel, 1883-1956. Anesth
Analg. 1975;54(4):442-443. https://journals.lww.
com/anesthesia-analgesia/Citation/1975/07000/HISTORICAL_VIGNETTES_.8.aspx.
Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: Thomson JC. Arthur E. Guedel (1883 – 1956): self-trained pioneer [abstract
1163]. Presented at the 2000 American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual
Meeting; October 14-18, 2000; San Francisco, California. https://www.
asaabstracts.com/strands/asaabstracts/abstract.
htm;jsessionid=43C632A735EA714F50DC2CB541AB31E1?year=2000&index=14&absnum=114
. Accessed August 23, 2014.
Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website.
