Anaesthesia and Anaesthetics, General and Local for Practitioners and Students of Medicine and Dentistry

The creation of this work was driven by a lack of work on this subject that is short enough to match the capabilities of the average student or busy practitioner, yet complete enough to provide a fair and unbiased summary of current knowledge in this important subject. The fairly extensive literature of the past decade on the topic of anesthesia indicates a growing awareness of the importance of better knowledge of anesthetics and their use. The growing trend to delegate the use of anesthetics to those who are more or less experienced in their use, even now go beyond hospital services and into private practice, and the need for our medical colleges both in training and in the practice of administering anesthetics is to be recognized. Rather than viewing the anesthesiologist as the least important factor in the success of a surgical procedure, it should be understood that, in at least some cases, his responsibility may be equal, if not greater, than that of the surgeon himself. In other words, many accidents, complications and sequences of anesthetic administration can be avoided through intelligent and skillful administration.