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A History of Regional Anesthesia

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Book cover The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia

Abstract

The history of regional anesthesia has been colorful and tumultuous, filled in its early days with self-experimentation, daring and charismatic personalities, and evangelical supporters. The initial enthusiasm retreated before the advance in new general anesthetic drugs and anesthetic adjuvants in the 1930s to 1950s. It took the introduction of long-acting local anesthetics and development of techniques for their safe use in the last quarter of the century that resurrected the fortunes of regional anesthesia. The development of new delivery techniques, particularly ultrasound guidance and continuous epidural and peripheral nerve catheters has supported the renaissance of regional blockade. The detailed and rigorous science of the last 30 years has confirmed a critical role for regional anesthesia and analgesia as a superior perioperative technique, one that the early pioneers may have only partially envisioned, but one they would certainly be pleased with.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesiology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Michael Mulroy MD

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  1. Michael Mulroy MD
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Correspondence to Michael Mulroy MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Edmond I Eger II MD Emeritus Professor

  2. Departments of Anesthesia, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Lawrence J. Saidman MD Emeritus Professor

  3. Geoffrey Kaye Museum of Anaesthetic History, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rod N. Westhorpe OAM, MB, BS FRCA, FANZCA Former Honorary Curator

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© 2014 Edmond I Eger, MD

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Mulroy, M. (2014). A History of Regional Anesthesia. In: Eger II, E., Saidman, L., Westhorpe, R. (eds) The Wondrous Story of Anesthesia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7_63

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8441-7_63

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8440-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8441-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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