ANAESTHESIA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does anaesthesia mean? 

• ANAESTHESIA (noun)
  The noun ANAESTHESIA has 1 sense:

1. loss of bodily sensation with or without loss of consciousness

  Familiarity information: ANAESTHESIA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANAESTHESIA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Loss of bodily sensation with or without loss of consciousness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

anaesthesia; anesthesia

Hypernyms ("anaesthesia" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "anaesthesia"):

cryoanaesthesia; cryoanesthesia (insensibility resulting from cold)

general anaesthesia; general anesthesia (a state of total unconsciousness resulting from anesthetic drugs (as for a major surgical operation))

local anaesthesia; local anesthesia (loss of sensation in a small area of the body (as when a local anesthetic is injected for a tooth extraction))

block anaesthesia; block anesthesia; conduction anaesthesia; conduction anesthesia; nerve block anaesthesia; nerve block anesthesia (anesthesia of an area supplied by a nerve; produced by an anesthetic agent applied to the nerve)

regional anaesthesia; regional anesthesia (loss of sensation in a region of the body produced by application of an anesthetic agent to all the nerves supplying that region (as when an epidural anesthetic is administered to the pelvic region during childbirth))

topical anaesthesia; topical anesthesia (loss of sensation confined to the skin or mucous surfaces (as when benzocaine or Lidocaine is applied to the surface))

Derivation:

anaesthetic (characterized by insensibility)

anaesthetist (a specialist who administers an anesthetic to a patient before he is treated)

 Context examples 

Various investigations have shown that communication between different areas of the cerebral cortex is interrupted during non-REM sleep and also when a patient is under anaesthesia, due to the loss of consciousness.

(Brain Is Still 'Connected' during Non-REM Sleep, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Similar to morphine, but more potent and without cough suppressant activity, it is used in treatment of moderate to severe pain, including obstetrical pain, or as an adjunct to anaesthesia.

(Oxymorphone, NCI Thesaurus)