Dear Colleagues,


It is certainly a privilege and a great pleasure to invite you to the 7th International Symposium on the History of Anaesthesia (ISHA) to be held on the island of Crete, October 1st to 3rd, 2009.

The 7th ISHA follows six very successful meetings in Rotterdam (1982), London (1987), Atlanta (1992), Hamburg (1997), Santiago de Compostela (2001) and most recently in Cambridge (2005). Crete, Greece and the wider Mediterranean area were chosen as the venue for the 7 th ISHA as not only the birth place of Hippocrates, the father of modern Medicine, but also of the god of Sleep “Hypnos” and of the “goddess of opium”, a well known symbol of Anaesthesia & Analgesia.

The goal of the 7th ISHA is to promote greater awareness into the History of Anaesthesia & Analgesia through the ages. To this purpose, special sessions will be devoted accomplishments to all major historical periods, from antiquity to modern times, to make better known accomplishments, decisive, as well as trivial, that brought the specialty of Anaesthesia to its present scientific status.

We hope that the island of Crete will offer participants not only an ideal environment to devote themselves to scientific pursuits, but also ample opportunities to enjoy a unique cultural and historical setting among picturesque surroundings wonderful landscapes.

We look forward to welcome you, all, to Heraklion, to Crete and to Greece in the next International

Symposium on the History of Anaesthesia.

Professor Helen Askitopoulou