Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, and pain medicine. A physician specialized in anesthesiology is called an anesthesiologist, anaesthesiologist, or anaesthetist, depending on the country. In some countries the terms are synonymous, while in other countries they refer to different positions and anesthetist is only used for non-physicians, such as nurse anesthetists.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and to improve patient care.
The ASA physical status classification system is a system for assessing the fitness of patients before surgery. In 1963 the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) adopted the five-category physical status classification system; a sixth category was later added. These are:
- Healthy person.
- Mild systemic disease.
- Severe systemic disease.
- Severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life.
- A moribund person who is not expected to survive without the operation.
- A declared brain-dead person whose organs are being removed for donor purposes.
In the United States, anesthesia can be administered by physician anesthesiologists, an anesthesiologist assistant, or nurse anesthetist.
Cardiothoracic anesthesiology is a subspeciality of the medical practice of anesthesiology, devoted to the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care of adult and pediatric patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery and related invasive procedures.
Geriatric anesthesia is the branch of medicine that studies anesthesia approach in elderly.
Certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAAs) are highly trained master’s degree level non-physician anesthesia care providers. CAAs are integral members of the anesthesia care team as described by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). This designation must be disambiguated from the Certified Clinical Anesthesia Assistant (CCAA) designation conferred by the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists. All CAAs possess a baccalaureate degree, and complete an intensive didactic and clinical program at a postgraduate level. CAAs are trained in the delivery and maintenance of all types of anesthesia care as well as advanced patient monitoring techniques. The goal of CAA education is to guide the transformation of student applicants into competent clinicians.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to anesthesia:
Sean C. Mackey is an American scientist, anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist. Since 2012, he has served as the Redlich Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Neurosciences and Neurology at Stanford University. He has been the Chief of the Division of Pain Medicine since 2007 and the Director and Founder of the Systems Neuroscience and Pain Laboratory (SNAPL) since 2002. Previously, he practiced anesthesiology and co-founded Stanford's regional anesthesia program in 2000.
Awake craniotomy is a neurosurgical technique and type of craniotomy that allows a surgeon to remove a brain tumor while the patient is awake to avoid brain damage. During the surgery, the neurosurgeon performs cortical mapping to identify vital areas, called the "eloquent brain", that should not be disturbed while removing the tumor.
Kathryn Ann Kelly "Kelly" McQueen is an American anesthesiologist and global health expert. She currently practices anesthesiology at the UW Health University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin and serves as the chair for the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health.
Mervyn Maze, MD, MB ChB has been a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Intensive Care at the University of California, San Francisco since 1988. He has also served as Professor and Chair at Imperial College London.
Warren M. Zapol was the emeritus Anesthetist-in-Chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (1994-2008) and the Reginald Jenney Distinguished Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School. From 1994 to 2008, Zapol served as anesthetist-in-chief at MGH and was the director of the MGH Anesthesia Center for Critical Care Research until his death.
Dr. Basant Kumar Misra is a neurosurgeon specialising in treating brain, spine, cerebrovascular and peripheral nervous system disorders, injuries, pathologies and malformations. He is the Vice-President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, and the former President of the Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgeons, and the Neurological Society of India. He is a recipient of Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest medical honour in India.
James Edward Cottrell is the Chair Emeritus, Department of Anesthesiology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City. He serves as a member of the New York State Board of Regents and is an avid collector of contemporary fine-art.
Alex Bekker is a physician, author and academic. He is a professor and chair at the Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is also professor at the Department of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neurosciences. He serves as the Chief of Anesthesiology Service at the University Hospital in Newark.
George Alexander Mashour is an American anesthesiologist.
Global neurosurgery is a field at the intersection of public health and clinical neurosurgery. It aims to expand provision of improved and equitable neurosurgical care globally.
Talmage D. Egan is an anesthesiologist, academic, entrepreneur, and author. He is a professor and chair in the department of anesthesiology, and an adjunct professor in the departments of pharmaceutics, bioengineering, and neurosurgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
