Anesthesia and labor pain book earns two awards for UF physician

University of Florida anesthesiologist Dr. Donald Caton has won two honors for his 1999 book “What a Blessing She Had Chloroform.”

Published by Yale University Press, the book examines the medical and social history of using anesthesia to relieve labor pain.

The Anesthesia History Association named Caton the winner of the David M. Little Prize for the best work of anesthesia history published the previous year in English. The award was announced in October at the association’s meeting in San Francisco.

Begun in 1983, the Anesthesia History Association has 400 members in the United States, Canada and abroad. The association seeks to encourage research and interest in the history of anesthesia and allied medical sciences.

Caton, a professor in the College of Medicine’s departments of anesthesiology, and obstetrics and gynecology, has long been interested in the history of medicine. He currently is president of the board of trustees for the Wood Library-Museum, located in Chicago.

The facility is maintained by the American Society of Anesthesiologists to serve as a functioning library offering books, journals and archives related to the discipline, as well as a museum housing historical artifacts.

Caton also recently received a commendation in the British Medical Association’s Medical Book Competition. The award, one of three in the “basis of medicine” category and 27 awards overall, was announced formally at a ceremony Nov. 15 in London.

The British Medical Association is a professional organization to represent the interests of more than 122,000 physicians. Among the members are 4,000 physicians from outside Great Britain.