aesth-, esth-, aesthe-, esthe-, aesthesio-, esthesio-, aesthesia-, -esthesia, -aesthetic, -esthetic, -aesthetical, -esthetical, -aesthetically, -esthetically

(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception)

anaesthecinesia, anesthecinesia (s) (noun); anaesthecinesias; anesthecinesias (pl)
The paralysis of motion accompanied by the loss of motor power or sensibility: Gerald had anesthecinesia which limited any normal bodily movements and so he had a combination of sensory and motor paralysis.
Nothing begins, and nothing ends,
That is not paid with moan;
For we are born in others’ pain,
And perish in our own.
-Francis Thompson
anaesthekinesia, anesthekinesia (s) (noun); anaesthekinesias; anesthekinesias (pl)
The loss of bodily sensibility or feelings and bodily movements: Hank was confined to a wheelchair because of the onset of anaesthekinesia which made him incapable of feeling anything, or picking up things with his fingers, walking, etc.
anaesthesia, anesthesia (s) (noun); anaesthesias; anesthesias (pl)
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.

Arrow pointing to words and info sections The index of anesthesia history, Parts 1, 2, and 3.

anaesthesiology, anesthesiology (s) (noun) (no pl)
A branch of medicine specializing in the use of drugs, or other agents, that cause insensibility to pain: The medical field of anesthesiology requires competency in general medicine, a broad understanding of surgical procedures, and a comprehensive knowledge of clinical obstetrics, chest medicine, neurology, pediatrics, pharmacology, biochemistry, cardiology, and cardiac and respiratory physiology.

Anesthesiology may also be defined as "continuity of patient care" involving preoperative evaluation, intraoperative, and postoperative care and the management of systems and personnel that support these activities.

anaesthetic, anesthetic (s) (noun); anaesthetics; anesthetics (pl)
1. A drug or an agent that is capable of producing a complete or partial insensibility or loss of bodily sensations or feelings: Depending on the type of action, an anesthetic is subdivided into general and local applications.

There are anesthetics consisting of various drugs that can cause loss of feelings, such as procaine or ether.

2. A medication that is administered locally or generally and produces a loss of sensation or awareness: When Angie had her appendix removed, she was given a general anesthetic.

Egotism is an internally-generated anesthetic which enables a conceited person to live painlessly with himself.

-Anonymous
anaesthetist, anesthetist (s) (noun), anaesthetists; anesthetists (pl)
A person trained to administer medications which induce an insensibility or dullness to pain: It takes several years of training and supervision by a senior staff member to qualify as an anesthetist.

There is a major distinction between an "anesthesiologist" and an anesthetist. An anesthesiologist is a physician (or, less often, a dentist) who specializes in the practice of anesthesiology, while an anesthetist is a nurse, or technician, trained to administer anesthetics.

The history of medicine is a story of amazing foolishness and amazing intelligence.

-Jerome Tarshis
anaesthetization, anesthetization (s) (noun); anaesthetizations; anesthetizations (pl)
1. The process of rendering insensible with the use of medications: The administration of drugs, during surgery, labor, and delivery, or other medical procedures that does away with pain, is known as anaesthetization.
2. The process or provision of medications that is designed to render the recipient insensible: Rex seemed to be afraid of having an operation, but Dr. Sparks assured him that the anesthetization would make it possible to perform the surgery and he wouldn't feel any pain and he would wake up feeling better.
anaesthetize, anesthetize (verb); anaesthetizes, anesthetizes; anaesthetized, anesthetized; anaesthetizing, anesthetizing
To administer a medication to a person, or animal, that is designed to render the recipient insensible and unaware of any pain: Angela, the nurse, used an alcohol swab to clean Marie's skin before using an injection to anesthetize her.
analgesia (s) (noun), analgesias (pl)
The absence of, or the inability to feel pain while still remaining conscious: Since Roy had an injection that resulted in analgesia, he was aware of what the doctors were doing during his operation, but he didn't feel any pain.
anesthesia awareness (s) (noun), anesthesia awarenesses (pl)
The phenomenon of being mentally alert, and terrified, while supposedly under full general anesthesia: When a patient is paralyzed, unable to speak, and totally helpless to communicate due to his/her anesthesia awareness, the actual cutting pain may or may not be present, however the patient is often unable to communicate with the surgical team when this takes place.

It is said that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs in approximately 50% of anesthesia awareness victims, and of that 50%, it is believed that 80% may never get over the trauma of such an experience.

anesthesimeter, anaesthesimeter (s) (noun); anesthesimeters; anaesthesimeters (pl)
1. An instrument used to regulate the amount of drugs and the degree of insensitiveness of a patient when such medications have been administered: The doctors used an anesthesimeter so they could be aware of the proper amount of anesthetics that were administered to Mildred.
2. An instrument that determines the amount of pressure necessary to produce a sensation of touch: Dr. Stewart used the anesthesimeter to determine the degree of how much pressure would be necessary for Larry to feel touches from other people.
anesthesiologist (s) (noun), anesthesiologists (pl)
1. A physician or, less often, a dentist who specializes in the practice of medicine involving the use of drugs or other agents that cause insensibility to pain: Before Robert's root canal operation, Dr. Jones, the dentist and a trained anesthesiologist, administered a local medication so the patient would feel no pain.
2. A physician who specializes in the administration of pain killers in order to prevent or to cause an insensibility to pain during surgery, birth labor and delivery, or other medical procedures: An anesthesiologist has a medical doctorate whereas an anesthetist does not. An anesthetist is a nurse, or technician, trained to administer anesthetics.

Among some hospital workers, anesthesiologists are known as the "dream team".

-Anonymous
anesthesiology (s) (noun), anesthesiologies (pl)
The art and science of the proper administration of drugs to produce a loss of sensation and their effects: Bruce's doctor was a specialist in anesthesiology and she made it possible for him to have a painless surgery.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he (God) took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

-From the Bible, the book of Genesis 2:21-22
anesthesiophore (s) (noun), anesthesiophores (pl)
That part of a molecule of a chemical compound that results in a loss of sensation or a hypnotic effect: The anesthesiophore is responsible for the anesthetic actions that take place in patients.

In medicine, as in statecraft and propaganda, words are sometimes the most powerful drugs we can use.

-Sara Murray Jordan, New York Times
anesthetic vaporizer (s) (noun), anesthetic vaporizers (pl)
A device for the gaseous state of a process that prevents pain, preferably at a constant temperature, into a carrier gas, usually oxygen, oxygen plus nitrous oxide, or air: An anesthetic vaporizer is a piece of equipment that is generally attached to an anesthetic machine which delivers a given concentration of a volatile anesthetic agent as it is needed by the medical staff for surgery, etc.

Arrow pointing to words and info sections The index of anesthesia history, Parts 1, 2, and 3.


Quiz If you would like to take self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this thematic unit, then click on this Aesthesia, Esthesia Quizzes link, or the button, so you can see how much you know about some of these aesth-, esth- words.

Related-word units meaning feeling: senso-; pass-, pati-; patho-.