Overview In the course of common anesthetic practice, it is unusual to worry about alterations in total environmental pressure, because the majority of anesthetic procedures are conducted within a limited pressure range. In fact, most organized hospital settings have developed…
History Decades ago, accidental delivery of hypoxic gas mixtures was a constant threat during general anesthesia. Many instances of hypoxia were attributed to human error. In some cases, the anesthesiologist mistakenly turned the wrong gas flow control knob or failed…
Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the contributions, advice, and support of Carl E. Englund, Larry T. Dallen, Holly Forcier, Steve Howard, and David Gaba. Norman Ty Smith was a critical contributor to a previous version of the chapter. Overview This chapter…
Overview Until the early twentieth century, animal life was defined by the presence of spontaneous ventilation. Absence of breathing implied death or impending death, although experiments with resuscitation and artificial ventilation had occurred since the eighteenth century. The defining characteristics…
Overview Anesthesia providers were once expected to know a great deal about the storage and supply of medical gases. In both large and small institutions, anesthesiologists often had to rely on their own knowledge and skill in this area to…