nd chloroform.
             Although anesthetics were very helpful, they also had a down side: people became addicted to them (Wilbur, 48). Doctors and medical students were the main users of anesthesia. Even laughing gas and ether parties were thrown for fun. Some Americans made money by selling anesthetics to common people; some would even pay just to see others using them (Wilbur, 50).
             Anesthetics made surgery easier, but keeping the wound clean was still a problem in America. Infections from diseases and germs were common after surgery. Early U.S. hospitals held many diseases and germs due to unsanitary conditions. Wounds were more likely to get infected in a hospital than outside one. "It was no wonder that people saw admission to a hospital as a death
             sentence" (Yount, 20). Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur made the first discoveries about germs. They also found some of the first antiseptics, or substances to kill
             germs. They tried to introduce these discoveries to American physicians but they rejected them. They didn't accept Pasteur's discovery because they didn't believe that germs existed. They found it hard to understand that such tiny organisms could cause illnesses.
             The development of x-rays also improved society in America. Wilhelm Roentgen, of Germany, was the first to discover x-rays in 1895 (Yount, 39). He discovered them accidentally by conducting electricity through gases at low pressures (Yount, 40). X-rays enabled doctors to see fractures and problems in bone structures, which make their work easier. This invention crossed over to America soon after it was discovered. American physicians greatly accepted this device because it greatly improved the quality of their work.
             During the advancements of medical history new types of medical practices were developed. Some of these new practices spread to America, which included acupuncture, homeopath
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