Anesthesia/anesthetic

Question

Hi,"He was put under anaesthesia." "He was given an anaesthetic.""He was given a general anaesthetic."Are all of them correct and do they essentially mean the same thing? I know that 'anaesthesia' is basically the state of being unable to feel pain and 'anasthetic' is the drug that stops you from feeling it.Thank you.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Off the top of my head, I believe the first sentence means you were made unconscious, in preparation for a major operation. The second and third sentences, I believe, mean your were given a drug that does not make you unconscious, in preparation for a less serious operation.

CalifJim · Answer

Ann225general anaesthetic

"general" in this context means your whole body is "knocked out". You are unconscious. The other term is "local (anesthetic)". Only the part of you that needs to be operated on is numbed.

For example, for most ordinary dental procedures you'll receive a local anesthetic — an injection of xylocaine in your jaw, for example, but you'll get a general anesthetic if you need to undergo something as serious as a lung transplant.

"put under" is equivalent to the case of a general anesthetic.

So 1 and 3 are fairly specific about the kind of anesthetic, but the middle one leaves us to guess which kind of anesthetic is being used. I think the absence of any clues that it's a general anesthetic makes most people think you're talking about a local anesthetic in that case.

CJ

Anesthesia/anesthetic

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