anesthesia

Definitions

an- (without) + esth (sensation) + -esia (state) = "a state of without-sensation." When a drug numbs the body for surgery, it subtracts the esth — the patient feels nothing. Local anesthesia numbs one area; general anesthesia puts you fully under.

Why It Means This

The word was coined in the 1840s, just as ether and chloroform made painless surgery possible. It names exactly what the breakthrough achieved: temporarily removing all feeling, the opposite of the body's normal esthesia (sensation).

Common Collocations

• 1.general anesthesia全身麻醉
• 2.local anesthesia局部麻醉
• 3.under anesthesia处于麻醉状态

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The patient was put under general anesthesia before the operation.

• 2.

  Local anesthesia numbed only the area around the wound.

• 3.

  She felt nothing during the procedure thanks to the anesthesia.

Easily Confused

anesthesia vs anesthetic — anesthesia is the state (loss of sensation); an anesthetic is the drug that causes it. You are put under anesthesia by an anesthetic. State → anesthesia; substance → anesthetic.