Download – Spinal Anaesthesia – Assessment of Block

Spinal anaesthesia has the advantage that profound nerve block can be produced in a large part of the body by the relatively simple injection of a small amount of local anaesthetic. The greatest challenge in spinal anaesthesia is to control the spread of local anaesthetic through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to provide a block which is adequate for the proposed surgery without unnecessary extensive spread, and increased risk of complications. In the following article the factors that influence how the local anaesthetic spreads within the CSF, determining the extent of the block, are discussed.

Graham Hocking