The fourth edition of Introduction to Anesthesia remains the finest textbook available for medical students and beginning residents in anesthesia. Moreover, the benefit of this text is not solely reserved for the initiate. Many of our finishing residents have commented on how helpful previous editions of this book have been in their preparation for qualifying examinations.
The latest edition has undergone only minimal, but logical reorganization, taking the reader sequentially from the preanesthetic period through the anesthetic and into the postoperative period. In addition, the anesthetic subspecialities are cogently reviewed, as are the special problems appropriate to the particular subspeciality.
Additions to this edition include discussions of recent innovations in patient care (such as pulmonary artery catheterization and intraoperative cardiac output determinations), new drugs (isoflurane [Forane], enflurane [Ethrane], ketamine hydrochloride [Ketalar], pancuronium bromide, and bupivicaine [Marcaine]), and problems that have come to the forefront in the past few years (malignant