The discoverers of oxygen were: Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1772, whom he called “fire air”; Joseph Priestley in 1774, with his theory of “dephlogized air” (phlogiston from the Greek word for flammable, consumed by flame), which was later rectified by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, who identified oxygen and its properties, and gave it its name in 1777: “acid generator” or “oxy-gene” (derived from the Greek word for acid).
As early as 1783, it was used clinically to treat respiratory insufficiency, and was studied at Bristol’s Pneumatic Institute (1799-1802). These uses were sporadic and mostly ineffective.
In 1837, it was included in the French pharmacopoeia, and it was in 1866 that surgeon Jean Nicolas Demarquay had tanks built to administer oxygen. Stanislas Limousin, a pharmacist, followed in his footsteps and is credited with being the father of oxygen therapy, with oxygen prepared at the patient’s bedside. Prescriptions at the time were to inhale 5 to 10 liters of oxygen twice a day!
In 1877, the discovery of oxygen liquefaction made it easy to transport, but it was mainly used for industrial purposes. The big national compressed gas distribution companies were born around 1900.
In 1900, “nascent” oxygen generators were invented, in which sodium dioxide combined with water released oxygen. This led to the industrial development of Oxylithe® by Jaubert. These techniques were used not only in medicine, but also on submarines and in the 14/18 war to treat gassed soldiers.
Aberrant uses of oxygen emerged in the 1920s: subcutaneous or intravenous oxygen, some examples of which you can see in this showcase: oxygen ampoules, Dr Bayeux’s apparatus...
It wasn’t until 1917 that John Scott Haldane set out the modern principles of oxygen therapy: “intermittent oxygen therapy is like bringing a drowning man to the surface of the water from time to time”. It will evolve into our current practices.
Oxygen therapy in anesthesia-intensive care began to be used in the 1900s, but only became systematic after 1940.