The Mesopotamians were familiar with the properties of opium and sleeping pills, several centuries before the Christian era. Even the Egyptians knew how to prepare opium as did the Greek physicians, such as Claudius Galenus who used it to ease the pain of the patients. The Romans were apparently less advanced in this area, and used a mixture of marble powder and vinegar as an analgesic (recommended by Pliny and Dioscorides). This concoction did not indicate a genuine search of painkillers and even less that of a true surgical anesthesia.
[...] Anesthesia machines delivered anesthetic gases and vapors in very precise quantities. The patients' vital functions were controlled by sophisticated electronic devices. There was tendency to replace the anesthetic vapor with intravenous agents. These devices which were considered path-breaking inventions at the time were soon relegated to museums as new discoveries rendered them antique. Principle of anesthesia 1. The different types of anesthesia and how they work a. General anesthesia General anesthesia is an act that is intended to suppress pain sensations and the reflexes of a person, thus aiding an unconstrained surgery. [...]
[...] Loco-regional anesthesia should always be administered by specialists trained in the technique and possess the knowledge to manage any complications that may arise. c. Epidural anesthesia Epidural anesthesia is a surgical technique that involves inserting a catheter in the epidural space (area of spinal cord surrounding the dura mater) to facilitate the diffusion of an active ingredient such as an analgesic, anesthetic or glucocorticoid. The most common use of this technique is in the administration of the lumbar epidural analgesia during delivery. [...]
[...] There are two main types of muscle relaxants: Depolarizing muscle relaxants or leptocurares: These are used in emergencies because their action is quick and rapidly reversible. They enable rapid intubation under good conditions, which has the ability to protect the respiratory system from inhalation of gastric contents. The only representative of this type of relaxants is succinylcholine. Its use is limited by a number of adverse effects, including: muscle pain, hyperkalemia, cardiac arrhythmias, malignant hyperthermia, and anaphylaxis shock. Non-depolarizing muscle relaxants or pachycurares: These are used during the GA, to relax muscles (example: in general surgery and the laparoscopic cholecystectomy.) Risks Risks from anesthetics have significantly declined over the last twenty years. [...]
[...] General anesthesia is based on a combination of drugs that have three types of complementary effects: hypnotics, analgesics and muscle relaxants Drug Expected outcome Class Analgesi Reducing the impact of painful procedures cs Hypnotic Loss of consciousness, maintaining unconsciousness. s NMBA Neuromuscular blockade, i.e. paralysis. To prevent movements that may be harmful during surgery or facilitate movement by relaxing the muscles. General anesthesia is accompanied by loss of consciousness and reflexes. Thus general anesthesia is often accompanied by intubation. However in absence of general anesthesia, surgical procedures can sometimes be aggressive if conducted without intubation and face masks while retaining spontaneous breathing for the patient. [...]
[...] It is widely used in anesthesia and studies are on to enable its wide use in the ICU. This analgesic is held responsible for the occurrence of postoperative hyperalgesia. Thiopental is considered as the leader of intravenous hypnotics and was the first to be used. The first use was recorded in 1940. The most used modern anesthesia is Propofol. It reacts within 30-50 seconds of being administered and is effective for duration of 5 to 10 minutes. It does not accumulate very much, and is a useful anti emetic. [...]
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