Would you say anesthetic is one of the greatest inventions of all time? If not the greatest

No. My reasoning for this is that I have taken the unit 'Medicine Through Time' in history. Around this period of medical history, there were three problems with surgery - pain, infection, and blood loss. The first problem to be solved was pain, through the use of laughing gas, ether, chloroform etc. However, this actually increased the rate at which people died in surgery, and as a result this period of surgery became known as the Black Period Of Surgery. The problem was that anaesthetics would stop the patient from feeling pain, but they would still be at risk of the incision becoming infected or dying as a result of losing too much blood. Because the patients could not struggle as they were not concious, surgeons could cut deeper into the body, resulting in more blood loss and a higher risk of infection.

I think the greatest historical medical event was the publishing of Louis Pasteurs Germ Theory. This theory underpins the whole idea that germs cause disease, and therefore that the way to prevent disease was to actually find a way to prevent the germs from doing that. This led to the vaccination, antibiotics such as penicillin, and in total, a great number of lives have been saved as a result of the Germ Theory. I mean, before this, the surgeons would use blood stained coats and not wash their hands! Imagine! The Germ Theory was revolutionary.

I hope that this helped you.

Yeah of course, i mean it may not cure cancer but its gets you somewhere, if you cant stop the pain then you cant do more major things to the subject so yes. and Advil

I'd say language, but...