local anaesthesia
Last reviewed 01/2018
Local anaesthesia is the abolition of sensation in a limited area of the body. Pain is the key modality that needs to be eradicated and hence the term 'local anaesthesia' can be supplanted by 'local analgesia'.
Local anaesthesia can be used alone or in combination with general anaesthesia. In terms of the route for transmission of nociceptive impulses, local anaesthetics act to block reversibly the conduction of peripheral neuronal signals.