Health Sciences · Hospital for Sick Children
An amber-tinted glass bottle with a blue and white label and a translucent white plastic cap. Removing the threaded cap exposes a plastic collar adapted to the filling port of a modern anesthetic vaporizer. There is a small amount of liquid remaining in the bottle.
Accession Number: 2025.sk.22
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Glass, Plastic
The following information is printed on the upper portion of the label: “CA2L9102l// DIN 02227428”
The following is printed vertically on one side of the label:
Barcode: ”(01) 0 0085412 067315 “Lot: H1 13F325// Exp: 06 2016 ”
Printed on the bottom corner of the opposite side of the label: “402-063-04”
Dimensions (cm): Height = 18.3, Max diameter = ~7.5.
Desflurane is a volatile general anesthetic introduced in the 1990s. It is generally used to maintain, rather than induce, anesthesia. It is marketed for its relatively low blood solubility resulting in a more rapid recovery than other volatile anesthetics. This is an advantage, for instance, in ambulatory surgery. It requires a specialized vapourizer with an integrated heater as it is liquid at room temperature.
Like several other halogenated inhaled anesthetic gases, desflurane is subject to concern about its environmental impact as a greenhouse gas. Desflurane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas. For this reason, it has been banned in Scotland, and by certain medical institutions, including Canadian hospitals. (See Pitargue 2022)
The artifact is intact. The label is legible, but has patches of discolouration. There is about 1 cm of liquid remaining in the bottle.
Associated Instruments:
Baxter Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario
Date of Manufacture: c. 2010s.
Provenance:
Ali Pitargue. “Major B.C. trauma hospital switches anesthetic gas to reduce carbon footprint.” CBC News. Website. Jun 02, 2022. (Archived June 30, 2025)
Historical Notes: