
Published online:
24 September 2013
Published in print:
26 April 2012
Online ISBN:
9780191777868
Print ISBN:
9780199584543
Contents
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Introduction Introduction
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Concepts of anaesthesia Concepts of anaesthesia
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What is general anaesthesia? What is general anaesthesia?
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Unconsciousness Unconsciousness
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Muscle relaxation Muscle relaxation
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What is pain? What is pain?
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The fridge problem and the formation of memory The fridge problem and the formation of memory
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Arthur Guedel Arthur Guedel
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Depth of anaesthesia Depth of anaesthesia
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Why anaesthesia isn’t sleep: looking at brainwaves Why anaesthesia isn’t sleep: looking at brainwaves
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Chapter
1 (page 1)p. 1Suspended animation: concepts of anaesthesia
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Published:April 2012
Cite
O’Donnell, Aidan, 'Suspended animation: concepts of anaesthesia', Anaesthesia: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (Oxford , 2012; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Sept. 2013), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199584543.003.0001, accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
Abstract
Studies estimate that 234 million surgical procedures requiring anaesthesia are performed worldwide every year. ‘Suspended animation: concepts of anaesthesia’ looks at the state of being under anaesthetic, distinguishes between general anaesthesia and sleep, and charts a history of the use of different types of anaesthesia for surgical procedures. Anaesthesia is the largest hospital speciality in the UK. Why is it that most non-medical people have only a vague idea of what anaesthesia involves? The anaesthetist is portrayed as a minor player in the surgical procedure, and as a person of mystery. What is pain? How does the anaesthetist understand pain?
Keywords:
anaesthesia, analgesia, cortex, halothane, magnetic resonance imaging, midazolam, muscle, nociception, opioid, spinal cord, sympathetic nervous system
Series
Very Short Introductions
Collection:
Very Short Introductions
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