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General Anesthesia: Overview

General Anesthesia: Overview

Anesthesia is a medical procedure that uses drugs for CNS suppression to enable painless surgeries and procedures. The selection of anesthetics is influenced by their pharmacokinetic properties, side effects, and patient characteristics. Various types of anesthesia include general, local, regional, spinal, and inhalational.
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...

Stages of General Anesthesia

Stages of General Anesthesia

Various sedation levels offer significant advantages in facilitating procedural interventions for patients undergoing medical or invasive surgical procedures. These levels span from anxiolysis to general anesthesia, providing a spectrum of sedative effects to cater to specific patient needs. Anxiolysis reduces anxiety and is achieved through minimal sedation, enabling patients to remain awake and responsive while feeling more at ease during the procedure. This level can benefit minor...

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.

Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview

Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview

Inhalation anesthetics are drugs that induce general anesthesia upon inhalation. They work by increasing the sensitivity of GABAA receptors or inhibiting NMDA receptors, leading to a decrease in central nervous system activity. The depth of anesthesia can be rapidly adjusted by changing the concentration of the inhaled gas. Some common examples of inhalational anesthetics include volatile liquids like isoflurane, desflurane, sevoflurane and gases like xenon and nitrous oxide. Isoflurane, a...

Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects

Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects

While local anesthetics are generally safe and well-tolerated, they can occasionally cause adverse effects that vary in severity. Local anesthetics can induce toxicity at two distinct levels. They can either produce local effects through direct contact with the neural elements or be absorbed into the bloodstream from the injection site, leading to systemic effects.
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia

Spinal anesthetics are given during lower abdomen and limb surgeries to block sensory and motor neurons. They are administered in the mid to low lumbar regions, primarily acting on the cauda equina's nerve roots. The blockade level depends on the local anesthetic (LA) concentration. Usually, low LA concentrations are sufficient to block sensory fibers, while only high LA concentrations block motor fibers. Other factors like injection volume and speed, the patient's posture, and the drug...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Adaptation of Microelectrode Array Technology for the Study of Anesthesia-induced Neurotoxicity in the Intact Piglet Brain

Adaptation of Microelectrode Array Technology for the Study of Anesthesia-induced Neurotoxicity in the Intact Piglet Brain

Published on: May 12, 2018

Anesthesia and cerebral apoptosis.

B Brée¹, M Gourdin, M De Kock

¹Service d'anesthésie, Centre Hospitalier Yves Le Foll, rue Marcel Proust 10, Saint-Brieuc Cedex 1, France. bernard.bree@ch-stbrieuc.fr

Acta Anaesthesiologica Belgica

|December 5, 2008

Summary

General anesthetics may cause long-term brain changes, similar to alcohol. Research suggests potential effects on the developing human brain, warranting further investigation into long-term neurological consequences.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Anesthesiology
Developmental Biology

Background:

General anesthetics (GAs) interact with cellular and molecular targets in the brain.
While typically considered short-lived, emerging evidence suggests alcohol, which shares mechanisms with GAs, induces long-term effects.
Alcohol exposure during synaptogenesis in juvenile models causes excessive cerebral apoptosis.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the potential for long-term effects of general anesthetics on the developing human brain.
To provide a biological, pharmacological, and experimental basis for investigating these potential effects.
To bridge the gap between animal model findings and human clinical observations.

Main Methods:

Review of existing biological and pharmacological data on general anesthetics and alcohol.

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Analysis of mechanisms involved in synaptogenesis and cerebral apoptosis.

Extrapolation of findings from animal models to the human developing brain.

Main Results:

General anesthetics and alcohol share common neurobiological targets and mechanisms.
Alcohol exposure during critical developmental periods can lead to lasting neuropathological changes.
The potential for similar long-term effects from general anesthetics on the human developing brain is biologically plausible.

Conclusions:

General anesthetics may induce lasting changes in the developing human brain, analogous to alcohol's effects.
Further research is crucial to confirm and understand the long-term neurological consequences of general anesthesia in early life.
This review provides a foundation for future studies investigating the neurodevelopmental impact of general anesthetics.