Diethyl ether is more commonly called simply ethyl ether, or even more simply as just ether. If it has been carefully dried of all moisture and is referred to as anhydrous. Diethyl ether is of historical importance in anesthesiology. In 1842, it was publicly used for the first time on a patient undergoing neck surgery. Today, it is more likely to be used in a tank of gasoline as a drying agent.
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