Hua Tuo

Hua Tuo (Wade-Giles: Hua To; c. 140–208) was an ancient Chinese physician who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The Records of Three Kingdoms and Book of Later Han record Hua as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery. He used a general anesthetic combining wine with a herbal concoction called mafeisan (麻沸散, lit. "cannabis boil powder"). Besides being respected for expertise in surgery and anesthesia, Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, and medical Daoyin exercises. He developed the Wuqinxi (Wade-Giles: Wu-chin-hsi; 五禽戲; lit. "Exercise of the Five Animals") from studying movements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and crane.