General anesthesia is a medically induced state of unconsciousness in which the patient loses awareness, memory formation and protective reflexes, typically produced by a combination of intravenous drugs and inhaled anesthetic gases, allowing surgery and other invasive procedures to be performed without pain or awareness. Dentist William T. G. Morton gave the first public demonstration of surgical anesthesia using inhaled ether at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, an event still commemorated as Ether Day, although earlier informal experiments with ether and nitrous oxide by other practitioners had preceded it. Modern general anesthesia is delivered and continuously monitored by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, who manages the balance of unconsciousness, pain control and muscle relaxation while tracking the patient's vital signs throughout the procedure.
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William Morton's 1846 public demonstration of ether anesthesia is credited with founding modern general anesthesia.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_anaesthesia, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_anaesthesia, lead section
General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is medically induced loss of consciousness that renders a patient unarousable even by painful stimuli.
2. Wikipedia: General Anaesthesia
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, Hanaoka Seishu sentenceQuote, History section, Hanaoka Seishu sentence
On 14 November 1804, Hanaoka Seishū, a Japanese surgeon, became the first person on record to perform successful surgery using general anaesthesia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is general anesthesia?
Medically induced loss of consciousness, achieved with injected or inhaled medications.
General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is medically induced loss of consciousness that renders a patient unarousable even by painful stimuli. It is achieved through medications, which can be injected or inhaled, often with an analgesic and neuromuscular blocking agent.
Why is general anesthesia used for some procedures?
To allow otherwise intolerably painful surgery, and to facilitate intubation and ventilation in critically ill patients.
General anaesthesia is usually performed in an operating theatre to allow surgical procedures that would otherwise be intolerably painful for a patient, or in an intensive care unit or emergency department to facilitate endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. Certain pain stimuli can lead to involuntary responses from the patient, such as movement or muscle contractions, that make the operation extremely difficult. Thus, for many procedures, general anaesthesia is necessary from a practical point of view.
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