Anesthetic gases

• An anesthetic gas is a gas that causes temporary loss of awareness and physical sensation.
• Anesthetic gases cause general anesthesia, or total loss of consciousness, rather than local or regional anesthesia, which blocks sensation only in particular body parts.
• Anesthetic gas is often used in modern medicine, either by itself or in combination with intravenous anesthetics, to keep patients unconscious during surgery.
• A doctor trained to administer anesthetics is called an anesthesiologist or anesthetist.
• Despite being commonplace in modern medicine, the mechanism by which anesthetic gas works is still uncertain.