Anaesthetic Machine
Components of a typical machine
Simple schematic of an anaesthesia machine
A modern machine typically includes the following components:
connections to piped hospital oxygen, medical air, and nitrous oxide. Pipeline pressure from the hospital medical gas system (wall outlet) should be around 400 kPa (60 psi; 4 atmospheres).
reserve gas cylinders of oxygen, air, and nitrous oxide attached via a specific yoke with a Bodok seal. Older machines may have cylinder yokes and flow meters for carbon dioxide and cyclopropane. Many newer machines only have oxygen reserve cylinders. The regulators for the cylinders are set at 300 kPa (45 psi; 3 atmospheres). If the cylinders are left on and the machine is plugged into the wall outlet, gas from the wall supply will be used preferentially, since it is at a higher pressure. In situations where pipeline gases are not available, machines may safely be used from cylinders alone, provided fresh cylinders are available.
a high-flow oxygen flush which provides pure oxygen at 30 litres/minute
pressure gauges, regulators and ‘pop-off’ valves, to protect the machine components and patient from high-pressure gases (referred to as ‘barotrauma’).
flow meters (rotameters) for oxygen, air, and nitrous oxide, which are used by the anaesthesiologist to provide accurate mixtures of medical gases to the patient. Flow meters are typically pneumatic, but increasingly electromagnetic digital flow meters are being used. Read the rest of this entry »
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Anaesthetic Apparatus
Anaesthesia means loss of feeling or sensation, so that no pain is felt. In surgery this result is obtained by using an anaesthetic. A distinction is to be made between general anaesthesia i.e. total unconsciousness and local anaesthesia i.e. only one area of the body is deprived sensation.
The beginnings of modern anesthetic equipment date back to Morton’s inhalation flagon in 1846. The numerous devices developed and introduced subsequently can be divided into four groups. Simple ether and chloroform masks for open inhalation anesthesia, from Simpson (1847) to Brown (1928). Vapour inhalators according to the draw over principle of Snow (1847) up to the Oxford vaporizer (1941). Closed or half-closed inhalation equipment for ether or chloroform with to and fro breathing, from Clover (1877) to Ombredanne (1908).
Equipment for anaesthesia with nitrous oxide. From 1868 onwards this led to the incorporation of gas bottles in anaesthetic equipment and between 1885 and 1890 to the construction of mixing-valves for nitrous oxide and oxygen. In addition, reducing valves, flow meters and vaporizers were developed. The first anaesthetic apparatus with circle system and CO2-absorber was constructed in 1925 by the Drager factory in Lubeck. Sudeck and Schmidt introduced this technique of anaesthesia in the university hospital of Hamburg-Eppendorf between 1920 and 1925. Read the rest of this entry »
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Dentist Anaesthesia and Your Procedure
While dentists certainly don’t want patients to feel pain during procedures, different types of pain management vary from office to office. If you have struggled with dentist appointments in the past, check with other offices in your area to see what they offer patients with anxiety about procedures.
Dentists have differing opinions of the use of anesthesia when it comes to patients. While they don’t want patients to feel the pain, the different types of pain management vary from office to office. If you have struggled with going in for dentist appointments in the past, check with other offices in your area to see what they offer patients with anxiety about procedures.
Local Anesthesia
With local anesthesia dentists take care of the pain in a specific part of the mouth. They may use a topical application that is laid on the place in the mouth where the work is going to be done. This also prepares the site to receive an injection of more anesthesia to numb the entire are of the mouth. This is not used for regular exams or checkups but is used for things like fillings and or crowns. Read the rest of this entry »
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