SINCE the last issue of Sphæra, the collection of the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics has been transferred to the Museum. The collection comprises some 320 items, such as the 'Oxford vaporizer' illustrated above, invented in 1941 by H. G. Epstein and R. R. Macintosh. The items have all been placed in store for the duration of the development work in the Museum, but they can still be viewed via a virtual museum prepared by the Department before the transfer took place.

The collection of anaesthetic apparatus and related items had been amassed over many years by Richard Salt and was catalogued in 1997 by Audrey Eccles. Every item was then photographed and the images digitized. The result is an on-line catalogue rich in information and images. The acquisition of large collections often entails prolonged work before they can be made available. On this occasion the Museum has been fortunate in being able to take on a large and important collection in a specialist area, complete with documentation. The 'Online Anaesthesia Museum' can be consulted at the web address www.nda.ox.ac.uk/museum/ .