epidural

[ ep-i-door-uhl, -dyoor- ]

adjective

1. Anatomy. situated on or outside the dura mater.

noun

1. Pharmacology. epidural anesthesia.

epidural

/ ˌɛpɪˈdjʊərəl /

adjective

1. Alsoextradural upon or outside the dura mater

noun

1. Also calledepidural anaesthesia
   1. injection of anaesthetic into the space outside the dura mater enveloping the spinal cord
   2. anaesthesia induced by this method

epidural

/ ĕp′ĭ-dr′əl /

Adjective

1. Located on or over the dura mater.

Noun

1. An injection into the epidural space of the spine, as an epidural anesthetic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of epidural¹

1880–85; < epi- + dur(a mater) + -al ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of epidural¹

C19: from epi- + dur ( a mater ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The suit highlights the cases of Liz Jurado, Christopher Lepre and Tyler Evertsen, who were sued for an epidural medical bill, a loan for an already-returned broken car and for a debt that was never theirs, respectively.

From Time

As an example of what happened to them, Liz Jurado received a $12,000 surprise medical bill from her anesthesiologist for a routine epidural, which millions of women received during childbirth every year.

From Time

I’ll never forget worrying about the vulnerable middle meningeal artery lying underneath and the potential for trauma to cause an epidural hematoma.

From Nautilus

But had I needed an epidural, had something gone wrong and I needed a caesarean, that would have been OK, too.

From The Daily Beast

This “lucid interval” is found in nearly half of all cases of epidural hematoma (Bullock, Neurosurgery, 2006).

From The Daily Beast

On a pain scale of one to 10, Chelsea ranks the epidural-free birth of her child as a six.

From The Daily Beast

The problem is that there is no convincing evidence that epidural injections work.

From The Daily Beast

In the effort to assign blame, we need to ask why so many people are getting epidural injections for back pain in the first place.

From The Daily Beast