Neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs) interrupt transmission of nerve impulses at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and thereby produce paresis or paralysis of skeletal muscles. On the basis of electrophysiologic differences in…
Local anesthesia can be defined as loss of sensation in a discrete region of the body caused by disruption of impulse generation or propagation. Local anesthesia can be produced by…
History The discovery of inhaled anesthesia reflects the contributions of clinicians and scientists in the United States and England ( Fig. 7.1 ). The most commonly used inhaled anesthetics in…
No specialty in medicine manages cardiac and pulmonary physiology as directly on a daily basis as anesthesiology. An understanding of cardiorespiratory physiology prepares the anesthesia team to manage critical and…
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is essential for survival and responsible for the body’s involuntary activities such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and thermoregulatory homeostasis. The ANS is divided into two major…
The editors and publisher would like to thank Dr. James Caldwell for contributing to this chapter in the previous edition of this work. It has served as the foundation for…
The challenges of learning perioperative anesthesia care have grown considerably as the specialty, and medicine in general, have evolved. The beginning anesthesia trainee is faced with an ever-increasing quantity of…
The specialty of anesthesiology has evolved dramatically since the first public demonstration of ether use in the 19th century. Originally, the emphasis was completely on providing surgical anesthesia. As surgical…
Abstract The addition of head and neck blocks to a pain management physician’s skill set can be rewarding for the practitioner as well as the patient. An understanding of the…
Abstract The paravertebral sympathetic chain extends from the neck down to the coccyx where it fuses to become a single ganglion. Besides its role in the defense of the body,…
