A partial or complete loss of sensation, with or without the loss of consciousness as a result of disease, injury, or the administration of a painkilling agent, usually by injection, inhalation, or hypnosis: Although anesthesia is used to eliminate tactile sensibility, or of any of the other senses, it refers especially to the absence of pain because it is induced to permit the performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

Local anesthesia affects a limited area of the body as opposed to general anesthesia, which affects the whole body.

The index of anesthesia history, Parts 1, 2, and 3.

1. A medically induced, coma-like state for an individual which resembles deep sleep: Because the surgery was complex and would last for a long time, Dr. McMahon recommended general anesthesia for Patricia.
2. A complete loss of sensation that affects the entire body with a loss of consciousness: The general anesthesia is usually accomplished after the administration of inhalation or intravenous anesthetics and it is commonly used for surgical procedures.

Medication, administered locally or regionally, which is used to eliminate pain in specific parts of the body, such as the area in which surgery is taking place: In local anesthesia, an agent is injected into the actual surgical site, while in regional anesthesia, the anesthetic agent is injected at a distance from the surgical site near the nerve that supplies that particular area.

The surgeon used a regional anesthesia when operating on Mike's foot, dulling the pain from his ankle and down to his toes.