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

/ ăn′ĭs-thē′zhə /

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

While his death at 54 was initially classified as a drowning, an autopsy revealed that the level of ketamine in his blood was about the same as would be used during general anesthesia.

From Los Angeles Times

She recalled that during the procedure, she was given "a few puffs of ether" which numbed parts of her body but she was not under anesthesia.

From Salon

I’ve seen patients who’ve made the very conscious decision to end their pregnancy make the sign of the cross or grasp a rosary as they drift off under anesthesia.

From Salon

This drug can create a deep state of anesthesia and amnesia sufficient to block the pain of a surgeon’s knife or 400 joules of electricity delivered to reset a fibrillating heart.

From Slate

When a critically ill person needs anesthesia, ketamine is commonly chosen because it doesn’t kill.

From Slate