Summary The intercostal nerves are the continuations of the ventral ramus of the thoracic spinal nerves. To perform an effective ICB, the block should be performed proximal to the mid-axillary…
Summary A regional block, also known as a localized block, is a type of anesthetic that blocks nerve transmission to prevent or alleviate pain. Regional anesthesia is the process of…
Summary The postanesthesia care unit (PACU) or recovery unit is the place where patients go to after leaving the operating room (OR) and before being discharged home or to the…
Summary Preoperatively, the patient will transition from different depths of anesthesia, including the levels of sedation, to general anesthesia (GA). Sedation is a continuum of symptoms that range from minimal…
Summary Selection of the anesthetic technique to be employed during a procedure begins during the preoperative evaluation with consideration of factors such as the patient’s comorbidities and preferences and the…
Summary Cocaine, derived from the coca leaf indigenous to South America, was the first drug to be utilized as a topical local anesthetic by Dr. Carl Koller for glaucoma surgery…
Summary Intravenous (IV) anesthetics were first discovered for their clinical utility in 1656 by Sir Christopher Wren, an architect, physicist, and astronomer at the University of Oxford while using a…
Summary Inhalational anesthetics (IAs) are a group of medications utilized, almost exclusively, for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia during surgery. The demonstration of ether anesthesia in 1846 marked the…
Summary Patient monitoring is fundamental to the job of the anesthesiologist. Anesthetic drugs and surgical procedures can produce rapid changes in patient physiology and these changes may last throughout the…
Summary The anesthesia workstation, commonly referred to as the “anesthesia machine,” is a complex and very specialized piece of equipment that is relatively unique in medical practice. It is, in…
