雙語科技百科(醫學) 第64期:麻沸散
Ma Fei San
Ma Fei San is the first anesthetic in the world and was invented by Hua Tuo, an outstanding doctor in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Although Hua Tuo's ancient prescriptions were lost, the ingredients are thought to have included cannabis and datura, which is a hallucinogenic plant and was later recorded as an anesthetic during the Song Dynasty. Some specific cases of abdominal operations were dilated upon in Hua Tuo's biography:A patient who suffered from abdominal pain for more than 10 days and had depilation of his beard and eyebrows beseeched Hua Tuo for treatment. The doctor diagnosed him as having deterioration in the abdomen, asked him to drink Ma Fei San,and then cut open and explored his abdo-men. The doctor removed the deteriorated part, sutured and plastered the abdo-men, and finally prescribed some herbs. The patient recovered after 100 story is believed to be a treatment of acute appendicitis. There is a historical book,in which the excellent medical skills of Hua Tuo were reflected read, " Pro-vided that there was deterioration in the intestines, he would cut the deteriorated part out, wash the remaining part, sew up the abdomen, and rub it with ointment. In four to five days, the illness would remit and the patient would not wake due to pain; in a month or so, the patient would recover. ,, There is also the story of General Guan Yu among the people, whose arm was pierced by a poisoned ar-row during a battle. Hua Tuo advised Guan to drink Ma Fei San so that he could do the surgery, yet Guan would not agree. Hua secured his wounded arm into the i-ron hoop of the wood frame and administered a strong anesthesia for it; then he scraped from Guan's arm all the necrotic flesh and periosteum, sutured the wound with silk threads, and dressed it with ointment. As a result, the life and arm of Guan Yu were saved.
麻沸散是世界上最早被髮明和使用的麻醉劑，由東漢末年名醫華佗發明。華佗的古老配方儘管已失傳，但人們認爲麻沸散的成分應包括大麻和曼陀羅花，後者是一種可使人產生幻覺的植物，在後來的宋時期被記載爲一種麻醉藥物。在華佗的傳記中詳細記述着其實施腹部手術的一些具體案例。有一個病人腹痛十餘日，鬍鬚和眉毛均有脫落，他懇求華佗給自己治病。經診斷，華佗認爲病人腹部有病變，於是給他服用了些麻沸散，然後用刀剖開其腹部一查究竟。華佗從其腹部摘除病變部位，然後用針縫合傷口，敷上膏藥，最後再給病人開一些藥草服用。一百日之後，病人身體痊癒。有人認爲這則故事講述的是急性闌尾炎的治療。有一部史書生動地放映了華佗的精湛醫術，是這樣寫的：“病若在腸中，便斷腸湔洗，縫腹膏摩，四五日差，不痛，人亦不自寤，一月之間，即平復矣。”民間還流傳一個關羽將軍的故事，在一次戰鬥中，關羽的胳膊被一支毒箭射中。華佗建議關羽服麻沸散以便實施手術，但關羽不肯，華佗便把他的病臂縛在木架上的鐵環中，在局部實施強烈的麻醉，拿出尖刀刮盡了腐肉和受損的骨膜，用絲線把傷口縫好，搽上了藥，使關羽保存了性命和手臂。
