anesthesia

Or an·aes·the·sia

[an-uhs-thee-zhuh]

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.,  general or local insensibility, as to pain and other sensation, induced by certain interventions or drugs to permit the performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

2. Pathology.,  general loss of the senses of feeling, as pain, heat, cold, touch, and other less common varieties of sensation.

3. Psychiatry.,  absence of sensation due to psychological processes, as in conversion disorders.

anesthesia

/ ˌænɪsˈθiːzɪə /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of anaesthesia

anesthesia

1. 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.

anesthesia

1. Loss of sensation or consciousness. Anesthesia can be induced by an anesthetic, by acupuncture, or as the result of injury or disease.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anesthesia¹

1715–25; < New Latin < Greek anaisthēsía want of feeling. See an- ¹, esthesia

Example Sentences

On Jan. 26, Lisa went under anesthesia for the retrieval procedure, her third in five years.

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Its nursing school’s website speaks of health equity, too, and advocates “anesthesia practices that promote social justice and equity.”

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Although his son had reservations, he wasn’t concerned about anesthesia or procedures.

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She and her husband, Shawn DeRemer, who leads an anesthesia company in Portland, refinanced their longtime Oregon home in January 2021.

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They were given dental exams, X-rays and other assessments while under anesthesia on July 31.

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