The Muscle Relaxant Revolution
On 23 January 1942, Harold Griffith and Enid Johnson used curare—an Amazonian arrow poison—during anaesthesia for the first time. Before curare, muscle relaxation required dangerously deep anaesthesia that risked death. After curare, anaesthetists could combine hypnosis, analgesia, and paralysis independently. The muscle relaxant revolution enabled modern surgery, including open-heart procedures and organ transplantation
