Veterinary Anesthesia

Veterinary anesthesia is the branch of veterinary medicine devoted to administering anesthetic agents to non-human animals to control consciousness during procedures, reducing stress, destructive behavior and injury risk to both animal and handler from before a visit through recovery at home. It is used more broadly in animals than in humans because animals cannot cooperate with diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, and needs vary widely by species, breed, size and anatomy. Veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians administer it by inhalant gas through mask or endotracheal tube, by intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, orally or rectally, or topically with local anesthetics, for purposes ranging from surgery and diagnostic procedures such as endoscopy to handling aggressive or exotic animals and therapeutic uses like urinary catheterization.