ABSTRACT
Chondrodendron tomentosum, the source of curare from which tubocurarine was extracted, is a tropical plant from the Menispermaceae family, not found in the College Garden nor in its herbarium. Curare, the sap of Chondrodendron tomentosum, a tropical vine, was used as a dart poison in South America, and found to work by paralysing all voluntary muscle activity, most importantly respiration. The introduction of curare to anaesthesia is attributed to Harold Grifth, a Canadian anaesthetist who mastered the use of endotracheal intubation for artificial respiration in patients unable to breath sufficiently, which was commonly needed when using the inhaled anaesthetic cyclopropane. The use of curare allowed for a lighter anaesthesia to still achieve the required degree of muscle relaxation. However, cessation of breathing was an unavoidable side effect and manual respiration with a face mask was extremely labour intensive. Endotracheal intubation, thereffore, made curare a viable anaesthetic adjunct.
