anesthesia

an·es·the·sia also an·aes·the·sia  (ns-thzh)

n.

1. Total or partial loss of sensation, especially tactile sensibility, induced by disease, injury, acupuncture, or an anesthetic, such as chloroform or nitrous oxide.

2. Local or general insensibility to pain with or without the loss of consciousness, induced by an anesthetic.

3. A drug, administered for medical or surgical purposes, that induces partial or total loss of sensation and may be topical, local, regional, or general, depending on the method of administration and area of the body affected.

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[New Latin anaesthsia, from Greek anaisthsi, insensibility : an-, without; see a-¹ + aisthsis, feeling (from aisthanesthai, aisth-, to feel; see au- in Indo-European roots).]

Word History: The following passage, written on November 21, 1846, by Oliver Wendell Holmes, a physician-poet and the father of the Supreme Court justice of the same name, allows us to pinpoint the entry of anesthesia and anesthetic into English: "Every body wants to have a hand in a great discovery. All I will do is to give you a hint or two as to namesor the nameto be applied to the state produced and the agent. The state should, I think, be called 'Anaesthesia' [from the Greek word anaisthsia, "lack of sensation"]. This signifies insensibility.... The adjective will be 'Anaesthetic.' Thus we might say the state of Anaesthesia, or the anaesthetic state." This citation is taken from a letter to William Thomas Green Morton, who in October of that year had successfully demonstrated the use of ether at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Although anaesthesia is recorded in Nathan Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary in 1721, it is clear that Holmes really was responsible for its entry into the language. The Oxford English Dictionary has several citations for anesthesia and anesthetic in 1847 and 1848, indicating that the words gained rapid acceptance.

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anesthesia [ˌænɪsˈθiːzɪə]

n

(Medicine) the usual US spelling of anaesthesia

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anesthesia  (ns-thzh)

Total or partial loss of sensation to touch or pain, caused by nerve injury or disease, or induced intentionally, especially by the administration of anesthetic drugs, to provide medical treatment. The first public use of ether to anesthetize a patient in Boston in 1846 initiated widespread acceptance of anesthetics in the Western world for surgical procedures and obstetrics. General anesthesia, administered as inhalation or intravenous agents, acts primarily on the brain, resulting in a temporary loss of consciousness. Regional or local anesthesia affects sensation in a specific anatomic area, and includes topical application of local anesthetics, blocking of peripheral nerves, spinal anesthesia, and epidural anesthesia, which is used commonly during childbirth.

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anesthesia, anaesthesia, anesthesis, anaesthesis

the absence of physical sensation. — anesthesiologist, anaesthesiologist, anaesthetist, n. — anesthetic, anaesthetic, n., adj.

See also: Health

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

anesthesia - loss of bodily sensation with or without loss of consciousness anaesthesia cryoanaesthesia, cryoanesthesia - insensibility resulting from cold general anaesthesia, general anesthesia - a state of total unconsciousness resulting from anesthetic drugs (as for a major surgical operation) local anaesthesia, local anesthesia - loss of sensation in a small area of the body (as when a local anesthetic is injected for a tooth extraction) block anaesthesia, block anesthesia, conduction anaesthesia, conduction anesthesia, nerve block anaesthesia, nerve block anesthesia - anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve regional anaesthesia, regional anesthesia - loss of sensation in a region of the body produced by application of an anesthetic agent to all the nerves supplying that region (as when an epidural anesthetic is administered to the pelvic region during childbirth) topical anaesthesia, topical anesthesia - loss of sensation confined to the skin or mucous surfaces (as when benzocaine or Lidocaine is applied to the surface) physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state - the condition or state of the body or bodily functions