anesthesia

---

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˌæn.əsˈθiːz.i.ə/
• (GA) IPA: /ˌæn.əsˈθi.ʒə/, /ˌæn.əsˈti.ʒə/

Noun

anesthesia

1. (American spelling, medicine) An artificial method of preventing sensation, used to eliminate pain without causing loss of vital functions, by the administration of one or more agents which block pain impulses before transmitted to the brain.
2. The loss or prevention of sensation, as caused by anesthesia, lesion in the nervous system or other physical abnormality.
   • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience', Lectures 4 & 5:

     In some individuals optimism may become quasi-pathological. The capacity for even a transient sadness or a momentary humility seems cut off from them as by a kind of congenital anæsthesia.

Related terms

• anesthetize
• anesthetic
• anesthetics
• anesthesiologist
• anesthesiology

Translations

• French: anesthésie, anæsthésie
• German: Anästhesie, Narkose, Betäubung
• Portuguese: anestesia
• Russian: анестези́я
• Spanish: anestesia

---

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003