Charles Ernest Overton: narcosis studies and a contribution to general pharmacology

The year 1986 marked the 85th anniversary of the publication of Charles Ernest Overton’s classic monograph Studien uber die Narkose (‘Studies of Narcosis’) [1]. This book has been cited widely by scientists studying the correlation of biological activity with partition coefficients and the mechanism of anaesthesia. It is of enormous value to modern toxi­cologists, particularly those involved in the development of quantitative structure—toxicity relationships, and the predictive limitations of such models. Overton reported a wealth of precise physiological and histo­logical observations on the response of a variety of plant and animal species to a large number of organic compounds. His remarkable deductions continue to serve as an inspiration for new scientific research and discovery.