Re: What are the types of anesthetic?

Greetings,
Be sure to check out the internet sites that have been mentioned  below.


www.manbit.com/oa/c89.htm 
www.ccac.ca/en/CCAC_Programs/ ETCC/Module06E/module06-11.html

www.asra.com/Consensus_Conferences/Groban 




There are various forms of anesthesia. The type of anesthesia used  
depends on the type of surgery and  medical condition. Usually, an 
anesthesiologist will administer a sedative in addition to the anesthetic. 
The different types of anesthesia are as follows: 
1.	  local anesthesia - local anesthesia is medicine given to 
temporarily stop the sensation of pain in a particular area of the body. A 
patient remains conscious during a local anesthetic. For minor surgery, a 
local anesthetic can be administered via injection to the site. However, 
when a large area needs to be numbed, or if a local anesthetic injection 
will not penetrate deep enough, doctors may resort to regional anesthetics.
2.	regional anesthesia - regional anesthesia means numbing only the 
portion of the body which will be operated on. Usually an injection of 
local anesthetic is given in the area of nerves that provide feeling to 
that part of the body. There are several forms of regional anesthetics, 
two of which are described below:
a.	spinal anesthetic - often used for lower abdominal, pelvic, rectal 
or lower extremity surgery. An anesthetic is injected into the fluid in 
the spinal canal.
b.	epidural anesthetic - this anesthetic is similar to a spinal 
anesthetic and also is commonly used for surgery of the lower limbs. It is 
also very popular as an anesthetic during labor. A thin catheter is placed 
in the "epidural" space, which is in the middle and lower back, just 
outside of the spinal space.
3.	general anesthesia - general anesthesia causes a patient to be 
unconscious during surgery. The medicine is either inhaled through a 
breathing mask or tube, or administered through an intravenous line -- a 
thin plastic tube inserted into a vein (usually in the patient's forearm). 
A breathing tube may be inserted into the windpipe to maintain proper 
breathing during surgery. Once the surgery is complete, the 
anesthesiologist ceases the anesthetic and the patient wakes up in the 
recovery room. 



I am not sure what your teacher is referring to when she says that there 
is a Relative Anesthesia.  Perhaps she is referring to the being in a 
state of conscious sedation , relative to the amount of anesthetic that 
was given.
This type of sedation induces an altered state of consciousness that 
minimizes pain and discomfort through the use of pain relievers and 
sedatives. Patients, who receive conscious sedation usually are able to 
speak and respond to verbal cues throughout the procedure, communicating 
any discomfort they experience to the provider. A brief period of amnesia 
may erase any memory of the procedure.

Thanks for taking the time to send in a question to the MadSci Network.


June Wingert
Associate Scientist
Lexicon Genetics
The Woodlands , Texas