ABSTRACT
Although the discipline of anesthesiology has traditionally been focused on delivering safe and effective surgical analgesia and amnesia, more recently it has broadened to include the management of critical care and pain issues. Accordingly, to encompass these extended responsibilities, this chapter is divided into two sections. The first section concerns the physiology of anesthesia and its application toward carrying out operative procedures. This includes the management of intraoperative critical care. The second section deals with surgical pain by discussing current concepts underlying the pathophysiology of pain and how they relate to perioperative care.
