What is anesthesia? Anesthesia is the administration of drugs or
gases to create insensitivity to pain before surgical
operations. The word comes from the Greek “an” meaning
“without,” and “aesthesis” or “sensation.” The word anesthesia
was coined by the famous 19th century physician and poet Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Sr., in 1846. Who are anesthesiologists and what
do they do? During surgery, anesthesia is administered for pain
relief or “depression of consciousness.” Before a major surgery,
anesthesiologists administer general anesthesia , which causes
full loss of consciousness in the patient. The responsibility of
the anesthesiologist is to manage the patient’s pain while
monitoring vital life functions, such as breathing, blood
pressure, heart rate and homeostasis, as well as blood
transfusions, if required. As the patient recovers from surgery,
anesthesia in the form of dissociative drugs – either oral or
injectable – may be administered. These drugs partially sedate
the patient to ease pain and distress.