The choice of a general anesthetic in nose, throat and ear operative cases will depend on the general condition of the patient, the age and the extent of the surgical work required. The anesthetics employed in this line of work are: chloroform, alone or with oxygen, ether, nitrous oxid, alone or combined with oxygen, and ethyl bromid. The systemic conditions which must be considered in using these anesthetics are the same as in other surgical procedures, viz., the condition of the heart, the kidneys, the blood vessels and, locally, conditions in the upper respiratory tract, stenosis of larynx and pulmonary tuberculosis.
In all cases requiring a prolonged narcosis, such as in mastoid operations, operations on the middle ear, certain operations in the nose and nasopharynx, ether is certainly safer and is to be preferred, unless it produces too much irritation in the upper respiratory tract. My experience with chloroform among