Nurse anesthesia is the oldest advanced nursing specialty. Since the mid-1800s,with the advent and development of anesthesia agents and care,nurses have been involved in administering anesthesia.Major advances in anesthesia science paved the way for the development of the CRNA role.Nitrous oxide was the first anesthesia agent identified in the mid-1800s.This anesthesia agent was adopted initially by American dentists. About the same time,ether and chloroform were widely used as anesthesia agents for surgical procedures.The concurrent advancement in antiseptic surgery and anesthesia promoted the growth of hospitals, because surgeries were becoming too complex to be conducted in the home.