During the 1700s, England was undergoing change and rejuvenation. The queen had arrived and the colonies were growing. It was a time of invention and great progress in the field of chemistry. During this period, the demand for medical care increased as did the need for medical advancements. Surgical procedures such as childbirth, tooth extractions, leg amputations and even the removal of tumors were carried out in the absence of any pain-relieving substances. Many doctors and dentists were curious about how to alleviate their patients' pain. It is no wonder that nitrous oxide was discovered during this period, but as it happened, the discovery of nitrous oxide as it relates to medical anesthetic would not be an easy task . Joseph Priestly was the first to begin studying the effects of nitrous oxide. Joseph Priestly was an influential chemist who, throughout history, contributed to many advances in the study of chemistry. Led by Joseph Black's discovery that gases were substances in their own right and Hale's device for finding gas on water, Priestly sought to report on gases. Priestley produced N2O by heating ammonium nitrate in the presence of iron filings, then passing the escaping gas (NO) through water to remove toxic byproducts8. Priestley discovered NO, NO2, N2, HCl and N2O (all in 1772), O2 (1774) and SO (JR Parington). Black reported that the O2 called the nitrous air diminishing. Priestley's goal was to report on the gases, soon after this was accomplished Priestly decided to leave the discovery of O2 in the hands of his future colleagues. Humphrey Davy was an English chemist who headed the Pneumatic Institute in Bristol, United Kingdom. Humphry was trying to find a way to rid people of tuberculosis using various gases. H...... middle of paper ......in need, fuel up our cars and bake delicious whipped cream pies. Despite the most harmful effects due to the chemical properties of nitrous oxide, nitrous oxide has made and will continue to make great progress.Bibliography1. JR Partington, A History of Chemistry, Volume 3. London, United Kingdom: Macmillan, 19622. WDA Smith, Br. J. Anaesth., 1972, 44, 297 (DOI: 10.1093/bja/44.3.297)3. H Davy, Chemical and philosophical research; mainly concerning nitrous oxide, or dephlogisticated nitrous air, and its breathing. London, UK: J Johnson, 1800 (http://bit.ly/hdnodna)4. BM Duncum, The development of inhalation anesthesia. London, UK: Royal Society of Medicine Press, 19945. N Pirogoff, Research on etherization, St. Petersburg, Russia, 18476. "Result filters". National Center for Biotechnology Information. US National Library of Medicine, nd.