RT Book, Section A1 Ciccone, Charles D. SR Print(0) ID 1180854899 T1 Local Anesthetics T2 Pharmacology in Rehabilitation YR 2016 FD 2016 PB F. A. Davis Company PP New York, NY SN 9780803640290 LK fadavispt.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1180854899 RD 2024/03/29 AB Local anesthesia produces a loss of sensation in a specific body part or region. Medical practitioners use it to perform relatively minor surgical procedures. The approach involves introducing an anesthetic drug near the peripheral nerve that innervates the desired area. The basic goal is to block afferent neural transmission along the peripheral nerve so that the procedure is painless. When a local anesthetic is introduced in the vicinity of the spinal cord, transmission of impulses may be effectively blocked at a specific level of the cord, allowing for more extensive surgical procedures (e.g., cesarean delivery) because a larger region of the body is being anesthetized. This approach is still considered a local anesthetic because the drug acts locally at the spinal cord and the patient remains conscious during the surgical procedure.