Gendai KamadaШаблон:Efn (1794–1854 or 1855) was a Japanese surgeon. Born in Iyo Province, Gendai moved to Kii Province at the age of 18 to study at a private school run by the prominent surgeon Seishu Hanaoka, where he learned how to administer general anaesthesia. Upon completion of his five-year training he opened a clinic in his hometown;[2][3] he became well known throughout Japan for his surgical prowess, particularly his skill in treating breast cancer.[2]
In 1839 Gendai dictated the text of Mafutsuto-Ron to his student Hajime Matsuoka; this 10-page booklet has been called the earliest textbook of anaesthesia in the world. The work provides detailed instructions on the administration of mafutsuto (also known as tsusensan[4]
)—a herbal cocktail developed by Seishu Hanaoka to induce anaesthesia—including pre-operative care, contraindications for the procedure and methods for assessing the depth of anaesthesia. Contemporary surgeons used Mafutsuto-Ron to guide their practice, and it inspired later Japanese texts on general anaesthesia.[3]
In 1840 Gendai published a surgical casebook titled Gekakihai-zufu (Illustrations of Surgical Cases), which contains some of the earliest known illustrations of surgery under anaesthesia;[2] and Mafutsuto-Ron would later form the first volume of Gendai's ten-volume Gekakihai (Book on Surgical Treatment), published in 1851[5][6] or 1854.[3] Gendai also published books on anatomical illustration and the treatment of sword wounds,[3] and taught over 300 medical students. He died in 1854[6] or 1855.[2]
