Chloroform


 * Chloroform** is an [|organic compound] with [|formula] [|C][|H][|Cl]3. It is one of the four chloromethanes.[|[][|1][|]] The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a [|trihalomethane], and is considered somewhat hazardous. Several million tons are produced annually as a precursor to [|Teflon] and refrigerants, but its use for refrigerants is being phased out


 * Deuterated chloroform** (CDCl3), is an isotopologue of chloroform (CHCl3) in which the hydrogen atom ("H") is replaced with a deuterium (heavy hydrogen) isotope ("D"). Deuterated chloroform is a common solvent used in NMR spectroscopy of organic molecules.

Chloroform was once a widely-used [|anesthetic]. Its vapor depresses the [|central nervous system] of a patient, allowing a doctor to perform various otherwise painful procedures. On 4 November 1847, the Scottish [|obstetrician] [|James Young Simpson] discovered the anaethestic qualities of chloroform when he and his friends were experimenting with different substances on themselves in search of a replacement for [|ether] as a [|general anesthesia]. He was so astounded by the success of his own trial that the next morning he hired a chemist and within the next few days was administering it to his patients during [|childbirth].[|[][|17][|]] The use of chloroform during [|surgery] expanded rapidly thereafter in Europe. In the 1850s, chloroform was used during the birth of Queen Victoria's last two children.[|[][|18][|]] In the United States, chloroform began to replace [|ether] as an anesthetic at the beginning of the 20th century; however, it was quickly abandoned in favor of [|ether] upon discovery of its toxicity, especially its tendency to cause fatal [|cardiac arrhythmia] analogous to what is now termed "[|sudden sniffer's death]". [|Ether] is still the preferred anesthetic in some [|developing nations] due to its high [|therapeutic index], and low price. One possible mechanism of action for chloroform is that it increases movement of potassium ions through certain types of [|potassium channels] in [|nerve cel]l Chloroform could also be mixed with other anaesthetic agents such as ether to make C.E. mixture, or ether and [|alcohol] to make [|A.C.E. mixture]. Chloroform has been used by criminals to knock out, daze or even murder their victims. Joseph Harris was charged with using chloroform in 1894 to rob people.