What are the mechanics of general anesthesia?

Answer 1

There are three main categories of anesthesia, each having many forms and uses. They are:

- General
- Regional
- Local

In general anesthesia, you are unconscious and have no awareness or other sensations. There are a number of general anesthetic drugs - some are gases or vapors inhaled through a breathing mask or tube and others are medications introduced through a vein.

In regional anesthesia, your anesthesiologist makes an injection near a cluster of nerves to numb the area of your body that requires surgery. You may remain awake, or you may be given a sedative, either way you do not see or feel the actual surgery taking place. There are several kinds of regional anesthesia; the two most common are spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia.

In local anesthesia, the anesthetic drug is usually injected into the tissue to numb just the specific location of your body requiring minor surgery.

Source: http://lifelinetomodernmedicine.com/types_anesthesia.aspx

Answer 2

In general anesthesia, you are unconscious and have no awareness or other sensations. There are a number of general anesthetic drugs - some are gases or vapors inhaled through a breathing mask or tube and others are medications introduced through a vein

Source: http://www.lifelinetomodernmedicine.com/types_anesthesia.aspx

Answer 3

Anesthesia can be administered 1) centrally (via endotracheal tube prior to and during surgical procedures), 2) regionally (through the process of regional blocks - of a whole limb, for instance), or 3) locally, (via injection of a small area of the body, for sufficient numbing for biopsy, cutting and suturing work to occur).

Answer 4

The precise mechanism of general anesthesia is not yet fully understood. There are, however, several hypotheses that have been advanced to explain why general anesthesia occurs