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Medicine vocabulary · Treatments and Procedures

Anesthesia

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˌænəsˈθiːʒə/nounCommon term

In medicine, anesthesia means: The use of drugs to stop a patient feeling pain during a procedure, either by putting them fully to sleep or by numbing one part of the body.

In Turkish: anestezi, narkoz

How it is used

Doctors distinguish general anesthesia (asleep), regional anesthesia such as a spinal or epidural, and local anesthesia. In UK English 'a general anaesthetic' (GA) is a very common phrase. The doctor who gives it is an anesthesiologist (US) or anaesthetist (UK).

Example sentences

  1. The operation will be done under general anesthesia, so you'll be asleep the whole time.

  2. We can remove the mole under local anesthesia in the clinic.

Common collocations

  • general anesthesia
  • local anesthesia
  • under anesthesia
  • spinal anesthesia
  • surgeryTreatment in which a doctor cuts into the body to repair, remove or replace something; also the medical specialty that does this.
  • operateTo cut into a patient's body in order to repair, remove or examine something as a surgical treatment.
  • operating theatreA specially equipped, very clean room in a hospital where surgical operations are carried out.
  • nil by mouthAn instruction that a patient must not eat or drink anything, usually before surgery or some tests, or when swallowing is unsafe.
  • informed consentA patient's agreement to a treatment or procedure, given after the doctor has explained what it involves, its benefits, its risks and the alternatives.

More terms: Treatments and Procedures

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.