Key Points ▪ Anesthesia consists of separable and independent components, each of which involves distinct, but possibly overlapping, mechanisms at different sites in the central nervous system. ▪ The potencies…
Key Points ▪ The cardiac cycle is the sequence of electrical and mechanical events during a single heartbeat. ▪ Cardiac output is determined by the heart rate, myocardial contractility, and…
Key Points ▪ With a better understanding of pain pathways and mechanisms, it has been recognized that ion channels play an important role in the transduction, transmission, and modulation of…
Key Points ▪ The liver is the largest abdominal organ and carries out a number of vital functions including metabolism and detoxification. ▪ The liver receives approximately 25% of the…
Key Points ▪ Removal of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is determined by alveolar ventilation, not by total (minute) ventilation. ▪ Dead space ventilation can be dramatically increased in patients…
Key Points ▪ Led by the discipline of anesthesiology, simulators and the use of simulation have become integral parts of many health care domains for various uses including training of…
Key Points ▪ Excellent clinical performance is not achieved by the use of sound medical knowledge alone, as clinicians have to face multifaceted challenges not just medical issues. There is…
Key Points ▪ Sleep is a dynamic neuronal and behavioral state that can be characterized using specific electroencephalographic, electrophysiologic, and behavioral findings. ▪ Characteristics of sleep can be quantified using…
Key Points ▪ Mechanisms of consciousness and memory, and their interruption by general anesthetics, are important scientific problems that have clinical relevance for the practice of anesthesiology. ▪ Consciousness is…
Key Points ▪ Deontologic (“rules-based”) ethical theory and utilitarian (outcome-based) theory clash in clinical scenarios in which the interests of individual patients are pitted against the interests of larger populations….
