Anesthesia

Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia, paralysis, amnesia, and unconsciousness. An individual under the effects of anesthetic drugs is referred to as being anesthetized. Anesthesia enables the painless performance of procedures that would otherwise cause severe or intolerable pain in a non-anesthetized individual, or would otherwise be technically unfeasible. Three broad categories of anesthesia exist: • General anesthesia suppresses central nervous system activity and results in unconsciousness and total lack of sensation, using either injected or inhaled drugs. • Sedation suppresses the central nervous system to a lesser degree, inhibiting both anxiety and creation of long-term memories without resulting in unconsciousness. • Regional and local anesthesia, which blocks transmission of nerve impulses from a specific part of the body.

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Proposed time limits on anesthesia may have jeopardized patient safety

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New research on anesthesia unlocks important clues about the nature of consciousness

Anesthesia overrides carbon dioxide in regulating cerebrospinal fluid flow

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Propofol anesthesia destabilizes neural dynamics across cortex (2024)

Study reveals how an anesthesia drug induces unconsciousness

2,400 people in Oregon potentially exposed to HIV, hepatitis through botched anesthesia

Multicenter clinical study supports safety of deep general anesthesia

New Discovery Hints at What General Anesthesia Actually Does to The Brain

Men Succumb to Anesthesia More Easily than Women

Mayo Clinic Study Reveals Immune Cells’ Unexpected Role in Anesthesia Recovery

Uptick in behavioral disorders reported in children following prenatal exposure to anesthesia

'Father of Modern Gynecology' J. Marion Sims performed dangerous 'experiments' on enslaved Black women without the use of anesthesia

A brain-monitoring device may one day take the guesswork out of anesthesia

Anesthesia blocks sensation by cutting off communication within the cortex

Anesthesia technology precisely controls unconsciousness in animal tests

Anesthesia can cause disturbing sexual hallucinations, according to a review of studies and case reports, and can lead to lasting psychological trauma

Predisposition to accidental awareness under anesthesia identified by neuroscientists

Study: Cannabis Exposure Decreases Need for Blood Pressure Support During General Anesthesia