We Finally Know How Anesthesia Works

Even though doctors have been using general anesthesia for nearly 200 years, they haven’t really understood the details of how it temporarily shuts down your brain - until now.
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Sources:
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJM...
medlineplus.gov/ency/article/...
www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/his...
anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wil...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6320881/
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.nature.com/articles/310599a0
anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org...
www.pnas.org/content/117/24/1...
Image Sources:
www.istockphoto.com/photo/pat...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/cel...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/mol...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/bef...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/neu...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/blu...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/fem...

[@Master_Therion]

Professor: What are you going to research for your doctoral thesis? Grad Student: Should I try to discover how anesthesia works? Professor: Knock yourself out.

[@ketchup016]

A+ dad joke

[@Sage_Chatwin]

This joke is underrated

[@IrvingIV]

dad jokes, commenter tested, scishow approved.

[@stlkngyomom]

Bruce Lipton:Hold my (epi)genome... P.S. Wim Hoff:Here's some ice water for that burn... Allan Watkins:It's obvious,his thinking was breathing impaired... Robert Waggoner:That's quite a common occurrence when you're yet to awaken from a dream,within a dream,within a dream(it goes on like that for awhile for most avatars, hence the abridged version). But you be the judge(Paul Harrel:).

[@TheBackyardChemist]

Keep passing gas

[@lp-xl9ld]

Anesthesiologists have to play the trickiest balancing act in the world: on the one hand, keep the patient insensate and immobile; on the other, keep the patient alive

[@JNCressey]

title: we finally know how anesthesia works by the end of the video: we have an idea of how some general anesthetics work.

[@jacob_90s]

You expect a straightforward title from an established KZbin channel? Why that would be completely logical and honest... CANT HAVE THAT ON KZbin

[@peetiegonzalez1845]

Indeed. I was sorely disappointed. They didn't even mention the puzzle of why even the mechanism described would affect consciousness but not disable the body's subconscious activity.

[@Dragrath1]

@@peetiegonzalez1845 Or perhaps the more fundamental question why everything from unicellular bacteria to complex eukaryotes respond to general anesthesia. It seems to be more related to the cessation of reaction to internal or external stimuli. "impaired sensation and interaction with the environment appear to be common anesthetic endpoints from single-celled organisms, to plants, to primates." www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098221931262X

[@DimSum9685]

So.... I was put under anesthesia when I was 11 for surgery. It didn't feel like sleep. All I know is that I was told to count down from 10... I made it to 7 and then I was out. Woke up in the recovery room 20 mins later not knowing what happened or where the new room was. It was like someone turned me off like a computer and turned me back on and I picked up where I left off. I think I was still counting.

[@Cgreen15Abram]

What were you in there for?

[@twocvbloke]

Same sort of experience for me when I went under to have my manhood mutilated, was about 4 or 5 years at the time and they got me to "play" their game of "inflate the special balloon", which of course involved deep breathing and blowing into the respirator bag thingy they used, then no memory of anything between then and waking up in the recovery ward, this of course was 30 years ago, so "older tech" anaesthetics I'm sure, but still the same experiences...

[@rohanagrawal6132]

twocvbloke sorry to ask but i’m curious, why did you get your manhood mutilated?

[@twocvbloke]

@@rohanagrawal6132 A question I've asked but never had a definitive answer for, supposedly an infection, or a swelling, or it was stuck together, it was this, it was that, either way, it's a scarred mess these days... It's also called a circumcision, but, I disagree...

[@guycross493]

Circumcision, if you didn't get it. Me living in a third world country, could only be pinned down by the doctor and my parents, and was gently told an ant is stuck on my peepee as I endured being tortured for ten minutes. You guys have it lucky.

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Magic's just science that we don't understand yet.” ― Arthur C. Clarke

[@wombat.6652]

YES ! thank you, i was looking to see if i needed to post that :D.

[@Deimnos]

you mean to say: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" ?

[@darmenias]

@@Deimnos More like: "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."

[@Deimnos]

@@sarahy.2442 you missed the whole point of the conversation by lightyears 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@zr0746]

Wow didnt know someone else said this befor me! Nice!

[@KY_CPA]

I actually had a top anesthesiologist as one of my first clients. When I saw what the cRNA's made, I was floored. Then he explained to me that an anesthesiologist is responsible for shutting down your body, without killing you, and then reversing that on call, it really made me appreciate the gravity of their position.

[@nothingtoseeherefolks6911]

I didn’t realize that we DIDN’T know how anesthesia works.

[@themarvellouschannel3032]

Same lol

[@patrickphelan3676]

Same with gravity. It's still just a theory about how it works.

[@deepstariaenigmatica2601]

@@patrickphelan3676 same with everything ever uttered by humans. just the degree varies.

[@cvp5882]

We still don't know. Neural inhibition is one thing, but how it selectively allows some neurons to function while others are inhibited is still a mystery. You can't just shut down all nervous system function: you will die.

[@deepstariaenigmatica2601]

@@cvp5882 shutdown doesn't necessarily imply irreversible death of neurons

[@joedellinger9437]

I remember the look of surprise on the doctor and nurse’s faces when they give me the knock out drug and... nothing happens. And up the dose and... nothing happens. Do some calculations and then give a BIG push on the syringe and... nothing happens. Well, not quite, the room spun for half a second. “Doctor, we’ve given him enough to knock out a horse!” And they start having a discussion about me as if I am not there. Uh, I am still awake and listening to you? They are startled a bit... they think surely I must be out of it, even if still awake. No, I feel quite normal.... I had warned them I had a history of being resistant to being knocked out... but I don’t think they believed me. They ended up doing the hernia surgery using local anesthesia. (Trust me, you don’t want to see the needles they use for that.) And that pain numbing drug didn’t work completely either. Operation hurt like hell, but no worse than a bad migraine, which at that time I used to regularly get. So I told them “let’s just get it over with, I can take it”. Told them how earthquakes work to have something to concentrate on. Remembered everything. Doctor was curious at the followup to see what I might remember. Told me in those cases usually the patient did not remember anything even though they might seem wide awake at the time. That was 30 years ago. Nowadays they use propofol. Now I go out like a light being switched off. Hits a different liver enzyme pathway. New doc said patients like me, resistant to sodium pentathol, versed, and valium, were rare, but happened often enough that a doctor would occasionally see one (one out of ten thousand I think he said). So they changed drugs for most things. “Propofol works on everyone, even people like you!” A bit disturbing to blink out and then wake up already in the recovery room... was not used to that...

[@txray3409]

Disturbing? It's the greatest feeling ever haha. One minute you're prepping for surgery and the next you wake up like you had some fantastic sleep and the surgery is over!

[@khills]

👋🏻 I just had an amputation in April with propofol. Remember the entire thing. Apparently it's unusual, but not so rare they were worried by it. (I mean, I thought it was kind of cool. "Hey, I'm starting to freak out, can I have some more diazepam? Dude, the propofol stung going in, how the hell did Jackson do that nightly?" and so on.)

[@NastySasquatch]

I feel this. I really like those amnesiac drugs. most of them have really fun comeups.

[@firstmkb]

The nurses called it "Milk of Amnesia"

[@JM-co6rf]

@@txray3409 they can see in brain scans there is no conscious activity

[@ITSMERlVER]

I clicked this vid so fast, because I just had surgery and was put under for the first time. It was like time travel, I blinked when they put on the anesthesia mask and when I opened my eyes I was in a new room and it was hours later. It was insane..

[@annag707]

Same 😂😂 But I remember having a weird experience before I was fully awake that I thought I was awake and talking to the nurse but I was actually blabbering to myself (wisdom teeth removal).

[@antenna_prolly]

Did you feel well-rested afterwards, or no?

[@Ug0tmi1k]

Got put under for surgery. Surgeon did the whole "Count down from 10" thing, I vaguely remember making it to 7 or 6. The next memory was me in a bed, being pushed down a hallway. It was instant, didn't remember a thing, felt groggy as hell initially. I remembered having my eyes closed, recalling the last thing that had happened, slowly piecing together that the surgery was done, and realizing the different sensations of having a catheter and a few other tubes stuck in me. It was the weirdest experience ever

[@Wander1236]

Title: We Finally Know How Anesthesia Works Video: We finally have an idea of how some types of anesthesia might work. There's a bit of a disconnect there.

[@ItsShatter]

It’s not as catchy! Lol

[@kirkc9643]

This is 2020, facts should never get in the way of your message

[@FishFind3000]

It’s just click bait.

[@michaelm9688]

I had "general anesthesia" for a wisdom teeth extraction last year. I don't believe I actually totally lost consciousness because I was basically tripping on ketamine and then about 3/4 of the way through my surgery my eyes opened. I was able to talk, and they repeatedly asked me not to since they were working on my mouth (I said at least a couple times, "I thought I was supposed to be asleep", but it probably just sounded like incoherent mumbling to them)... I remember the noise of the tools they were using to operate on me and although I didn't feel any pain whatsoever (thank goodness!!), I could feel the pressure of the surgical tools against my tooth sockets. I'm honestly jealous of everyone who totally blacks out and doesn't remember a thing. I was reassured that would happen to me, but I was still very nervous before the procedure. And rightfully so because I experienced a genuine episode of awareness under general anesthesia.

[@elanianiyvwia8687]

As someone who’s had knee surgery I’m glad they do work.

[@backwoodsjunkie08]

Same here! Ive had several colonoscopys and would not wat to be awake for them

[@Aetius_of_Astora]

@@backwoodsjunkie08 My papa woke up during his colonoscopy and said it wasn't a fun experience

[@Kleineganz]

Between December 2018 and November 2019 I was under general anesthesia 5 times for different surgeries. I don't know how reassuring it is to know I was put under by something that we didn't fully understand the function of. Thankfully I came out of every procedure just fine. *whew*

[@codename495]

Better than the way surgery was preformed before anesthesia. Surgeons trained to work as fast as they could, because the patient was awake, aware, felt everything and fought. When anesthesia was discovered it had many physicians who were against it, because they believed it was dangerous to not allow the patient to feel the pain of surgery. The most vehement opponent to it in London was teaching at a medical college and put a sheep under with insane overdoses of ether, called the animal dead and dragged it to the back if the class to warn the upcoming physicians against its use. The sheep woke up, he gave it more, sheep woke up again. Anesthesia became the norm.

[@rmsgrey]

If it helps, no-one really understands how gravity works either, but we use that every day. What's important to know about anaesthetics is what effects they have, not the detailed mechanisms by which they produce those effects. Just like it's important to know and understand that gravity pulls things downward with a constant acceleration (so long as nothing interferes - like floors or the ground) pretty much everywhere people go without needing to understand how it does it.

[@Kleineganz]

@@rmsgrey On many levels we do understand how gravity works. Our recent confirmation of gravity waves has brought us closer to having a full grasp on that force. I think the only big thing we're still missing is figuring out whether graviton particles exist or not.

[@rmsgrey]

@@Kleineganz Not knowing whether it has the same basic particle-exchange mechanism as other fundamental forces is a pretty big thing to be missing. Have they even settled the question of whether gravity is really a force or not? Or why it's so much weaker than electro-magnetism? For that matter, every explanation comes with its own host of new follow-up questions - there's always more to know...

[@IQzminus2]

I mean we have had extensive knowledge of the effects of general anaesthesia, just not a full knowledge of what causes those effects. So we have a great understanding of what A should be to get B, and all potential good and bad effects A can have on B with great detail and relatively good predictability. But a lack of understanding certain aspects of what actually makes A cause B. A great understanding of A and B + the relationship between A and B But not a good understanding of the arrow in the A → B is. Sort of. So it’s not as bad as it might sound, though hopefully this knowledge will help make future progress towards better and safer anaesthetics even faster, or open up new approaches people wouldn’t consider otherwise. Because it’s a whole lot easier to test new things when you have loads of knowledge and sound theories to build your assumptions on. So I don’t know much about this subject, but it sounds pretty awesome. And I’m guessing doctors and nurses have had a very good idea of what they have been doing and how they should be doing it.

[@squanchmastersquanch4376]

I remember my first time on anesthesia. After the doctors removed my appendix I couldnt remember anything prior the last two hours. Now I get to relieve this experience this Thursday. Getting rid of a tumor in my head. Hooray.......

[@eseguerito2629]

For the love of all that is holy, please don’t say, “It just makes you paralysed but fully concious and then you forget the whole ordeal when it wears off”.

[@patrickryan7829]

Welp if you don't get a high enough dose you feel and remember everything. Started bawling immediately after I could move again.

[@RemingtonMK]

@@patrickryan7829 that sounds awful. you can probably sue whoever did the anesthesia 😅

[@el_equidistante]

they do use other drugs to paralyze you I think, that's why sometimes you regain consciousness and feel, but are still paralyzed

[@HeroOfTheDay16]

If you've ever been under anesthesia or at least the proper amount you'd know this isn't the case but if they misdose you and don't give you enough it puts you in a state of semi-consousness where you kinda feel like your in a dream it's happened to me before

[@pvic6959]

@@HeroOfTheDay16 yeah i had 2 surgeries and I dont remember any of them. For one of them I did wake up for a couple seconds but all I heard was the doctor saying to up the dose a little bit lol. the other one, I didnt wake up until 45 min after the surgery... it was the best sleep ive ever had LOL

[@mistrants2745]

This actually helps killing my fear that general anesthesia DOESNT actually stop you from feeling pain, it just paralyses you and makes you forget afterwards. If we understand how it stops you from feeling pain, we can determine that yes, indeed, it ACTUALLY stops the pain.

[@mistrants2745]

@DBR Liamg im not sure why you sound so aggressive but let me answer anyway: 1. ive been under general anesthesia multiple times. 2. what would asking someone help if the fear is that you forget afterwards. 3. this DOES in fact happen from time to time. People who wake up but remain paralyzed. With the difference that they dont forget it afterwards, and its devastatingly traumatic. As for your weird comparison to flat earth theory: this isnt a conspiracy theory. Its a fear. A fear that isnt that ridiculous back when we didnt know how anesthesia works. A temporary paralysis that also shuts off short term memory isnt that far fetched as far as medical situations go in the slightest. Now again, i never said or believed that was how it WAS. its just one of those freaky 'what if' thoughts that get stuck in some people's mind, and that thankfully can be mostly disproven now with this discovery.

[@LillyFromTheBlock1]

DBR Liamg What an pompous and rude ass you are.

[@annoloki]

Anaesthetics don't paralyse you. That's the muscle relaxant that stops muscles twitching while the surgeon is trying to do something delicate and screwing it up. If the anaesthetist gives somebody more than enough muscle relaxant, and not enough anaesthetic, and doesn't notice this, then yeah, you'll have a bad time... this is why you want an anaesthetist who has been properly trained so it doesn't happen. It only happens if they screw up badly.

[@12abirato]

I was thinking the exact same thing-- thank god, hahaha

[@dminter1234]

@@annoloki It all comes down to timing, On my last surgery with general anesthesia the doctor gave me the "muscle relaxant" first, which effectively paralyzed me. He waited about 15-20 seconds before administering the anesthesia, so I was awake and aware I had stopped breathing and was unable to move for this time period. It was definitely a strange feeling, but luckily didnt last very long.

[@radwulfeboraci7504]

Translation: You're way too stoned to realize you're being disemboweled.

[@rdizzy1]

Nah, you are actually fully unconscious, well for the anaesthesia they are talking about here. It is more similar to turning the brain off, doing the surgery then turning it back on. Most people do not even know they were ever knocked out, and many, many people ask when the surgery is going to start or when they are going to be wheeled in. There are a few horror stories here and there, but they are almost all caused by errors by the anaesthesiologist.

[@onesaltyboi6575]

rdizzy1 bro shut up it was a joke

[@scaper8]

@@onesaltyboi6575 Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, the explanation is a relevant one. Many people, even many well read ones, incorrectly think of it as a deep sleep of some kind (as mentioned in the video) or some kind of narcotic effect (as in this comment). Giving a clear response, even if the OP was in jest, is not a bad thing.

[@Efectivtrailer2]

@@onesaltyboi6575 thank you💀

[@PillarofWind]

@@rdizzy1 ita a joke fool

[@pannesterpants3008]

Vid idea: what are cuticles and what about other animals

[@domsquaaa4323]

what do you mean

[@SquirrelASMR]

I think it's when you tickle cute stuff like babies and kittens

[@joshlasky8138]

I love this lol

[@EmilyJelassi]

And why do my cuticles grow faster than my nails?

[@woobeewooo]

Omg yes I've never understood their function

[@ThrottleKitty]

here i thought they just clonked us on the head and started choppin

[@johnpossum556]

You must have seen Dances with Wolves.

[@brettcameratraveler]

Just got out of surgery and slooowly typing this. Even my doctor didnt know they figured out it's mechanism. Anyway it really is a special state of consciousness. No memories and no sense of any time passing.

[@xiiaolongbaoo]

This year I had surgery for my broken elbow and I remember getting the gas and I could feel myself losing conscious. It isn’t like falling asleep where you dream. Once I fell asleep, my world just faded into nothingness, and I remember nothing. I woke up around 1 or 2 hours after the surgery, and wanted to sleep after.

[@rdizzy1]

This is what happens with the mass majority of people as well.

[@Myemnhk]

Yeah its literally like you blinked. With no perception of time in between its like sleeping

[@RAiNfORAiNbOW]

Strange because for me I didn't remember anything but I knew time had passed like I didnt have that suprize how did I get back into my room or what happened. To me it felt more like sleep

[@vasp99]

This is very timely for me. I had a hip replacement done yesterday and was deeply sedated. Plus I'm taking some kind of morphine pain pills for the next several weeks.

[@ThePokerftw]

Don’t get addicted to the pills like hundreds of thousands before you have.

[@vasp99]

@@ThePokerftw thanks. I've been on pain meds for many years though because I have severe arthritis.

[@ohmbasa]

@@vasp99 All pain killers are opioids, which are derived from the poppy plant. Different types of opioids have different potencies and affinities with your brain's opioid receptors, therefore the risk for addiction may be higher with different pills. Keep in mind that potencies and affinity are not the same which means that a pill can have a low potency but a very high affinity. Examples of this are methadone and suboxone. Each has a low potency but a high affinity which means that they are actually more addictive than heroin and the withdrawal process is longer lasting. Just be careful whenever you're taking new painkillers. Your brain chemistry can change quickly and you don't want to be dealing with withdrawals when you run out.

[@vasp99]

@@ohmbasa this is my second hip replacement. I used the same drug the first time and it was only a couple of days after I stopped taking them that I noticed a difference in my mind and body.

[@lake5044]

I hope you get better soon! 😊

[@Dsynced_]

I just like waking up after a surgery asking..”when are we going to start the surgery”

[@mikeygallos5000]

I did that once when I was 12. Everyone laughed 😂

[@retiredamericanpatriot5571]

Thats also due to a secondary drug which blocks your memory in case you actually wake up during the surgery. While I was having my knee scoped, the nurse told me I woke up and was asking questions....I have absolutely no memory of that.

[@meryembeyzasabaz2187]

Wow! What kind of drugs they giving you? I woke up in pain, could'nt eat few hours vomiting and staff.. It was awful

[@dimitraBlissDk]

I usually wake yelling " ow "

[@dimitraBlissDk]

@@meryembeyzasabaz2187 I can empathize

[@crovax1375]

I've woken up during surgery before. The team working on me was very suprised!

[@phillipsusi1791]

If you were supposed to be under anesthesia, then someone fscked up big time. Then again, I had cosmetic surgery on my ears when I was 10 or so and was awake the whole time and found the whole thing very interesting. Though the smell of my own flesh burning under the electrocatuerizing knife was a wee bit disconcerting.

[@ryderoreilly9807]

Fascinating. As someone who's undergone over 20 general anesthesitic surgeries in the last 6 years I've often pondered this very question. For anyone who's never been put under, I always describe it as like you are falling down alice in wonderland's rabbit hole, you hear an internal buzzing in your ears that becomes louder the deeper under you go and you feel as though you're spiraling down a hole. Always a good time trying to see how long you can last before it zonks you out completely 😅

[@johnopalko5223]

To be fair, we still don't know. We have some compelling results that warrant further research.

[@deepstariaenigmatica2601]

like what...

[@johnopalko5223]

@@deepstariaenigmatica2601 Like the whole lipid raft thing that the video was about. Completely unrelated question: Your name spells "EH" in Morse code. Was that deliberate?

[@deepstariaenigmatica2601]

@@johnopalko5223 haha okay so people keep misunderstanding this but i just wanted a symmetrical name with the bullet youtube puts in the middle of the username & time of the comment lol

[@rinakatsuki2801]

@@deepstariaenigmatica2601 that is a funny coincidence though XD

[@anatolydyatlov963]

@@deepstariaenigmatica2601 That bullet is visible only on mobile, though. It won't be symmetrical for the people who watch it on their PCs.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

General anesthesia: best way to experience what death is like without actually dying.

[@history2873]

FvckKZbin'sCensorship UseAdblock - I personally don't think anaesthesia and death are anywhere close to each other in feeling, meaning and consequences...

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

@@history2873 I think they are virtually identical. Only difference is the obvious one: from death you simply never regain consciousness. As far as meaning neither has one, it just is. Any meaning people think there is is just wishful thinking.

[@history2873]

FvckKZbin'sCensorship UseAdblock - I think some ppl sense strong pain during death (judging from their facial expressions, other body movements etc). Many are totally conscious. Who knows the truth? Not looking forward to finding out for myself....

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

@@history2873 It's depends on method of death, obviously. If it's a heart attack or burning, then yeah it's going to hurt until you lose consciousness (and sometimes whatever your facial muscles were doing before don't change much when they relax, including your eyelids that sometimes stay open, even though you don't "see" anything if the brain doesn't register the signals from the retinas). After that point method doesn't matter, you don't feel or are even aware of a thing.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

@Jonathan Williams Prove it.

[@spiderdude2099]

TLDR: Tiny clusters of lipids and proteins on nerve cells get blown open by anesthesia and their contents catalyze a reaction that makes the ions responsible for nerve function just ooze out rendering them inactive.

[@spiderdude2099]

Afrodisiac I don’t fault them for that, it was still interesting

[@Abah-cuh-bus]

So when it wears off, what happens? The lipid rafts gather up their contents? Make more after going back together? How’s that work? And does it relate to how we wake up For it? Also why doesn’t it kill us? Why doesn’t it render the nerves that control our heartbeat useless?

[@ideoformsun5806]

I woke up during cosmetic surgery on my ears when I was a teenager. Interestingly, my Dad was the Anesthesiologist. It didn't hurt, but everyone was startled that I was awake. I listened to them stitching up my ear a while before I said anything. Now, as a caregiver, I always ask to make sure the Anesthesiologist will be administering a local anesthesia, which numbs the area, even if you are awake. You can get both. It can help with recovery. You can also obtain Tylenol suppositories that can be given directly post op, so it can kick in before the local anesthesia completely wears off. You can't drink anything at that time, but the suppository is ok, and it dissolves quickly.

[@Sharonmxg]

I really enjoy Michaels clips. He (and all the hosts really) manage to convey some really complicated science in relatively easy to digest language.

[@aquaticaquatos4792]

Waking up from anesthesia feels like waking up from an extra deep sleep. You feel fresh and well rested even if you were under anesthesia just for few hours

[@DoctaOsiris]

I've been terrified of general anaesthetics for a long time, the last time I went for an operation that needed general anaesthesia I couldn't let go of the nurses hand, she was fine with it but I'm not entirely sure where that fear came from, my guess is one time in the late 90s I had to be rushed in for emergency treatment and a couple of days after I was looking through my medical file and it said that my BP had dropped as low as 40/30 at least 3 times during that operation... I studied Pharmacology for a few years as well and although Anaesthesia wasn't something I delved into much, the things I do know don't really help the situation much... 🤦‍♂️💥 🤣

[@mygirldarby]

I'm terrified of general anaesthesia. It is my biggest fear. I will do anything to avoid it. I don't know why, but the thought of it is horrific to me. I guess because as you're "going under" it may be the last time you're ever conscious on earth...in other words, you may not wake up. Also there's anaesthesia awareness. If you haven't heard of that, don't Google it. The stories are horrifying.

[@alyc6014]

My dad is an anesthesiologist, it's actually a very detailed calculation that they need to do in order for you to not stay conscious and not overdose, they also keep you under constant vigilance during the whole procedure. It is very unlikely to stay conscious during it or that it ends up killing you. There's not really much I can say that will help you but if it helps try to get an anesthesiologist that has experience and is known for being meticulous, and also always tell them all your underlining pathologies and allergies.

[@DoctaOsiris]

@@mygirldarby Oh yes, I know about that lol 😂 truly horrifying 🥶

[@DoctaOsiris]

@@alyc6014 It's a bit more complicated than that really, and yes, I know they constantly monitor people while under anaesthesia but the complications can often arise from allergies that are either unknown to the patient or not understood as well, for example, more people have lactose intolerance than they realise but people ignore it because farting is funny (apparently 🤣), even something like 2 people being adopted at young ages and finding each other as adults but not realising they're actually siblings and never finding out (which does actually happen) and then having children together, those children, when going under anaesthesia can be massively affected by anaesthesia, there's a certain group of Indian/Muslims who have very little choice in anaesthesia because they're so inbred that it would immediately kill them if they had it, there's so many variables in the calculations that something will go wrong sometime, someplace and I know I'm not inbred so that doesn't matter 🤣 but I'm not aware of any allergies (except possibly lactose intolerance but I love my milk and cheese 🧀 🤣) and the amount of different drugs and stuff that have flown through my system over the decades certainly won't help, like Antipsychotics for example, I've been on those since my late teens and have probably had every single version ever created including the hospital prescribed only Clozipine, there's a reason why only hospitals can prescribe those things, I had to go to the hospital every single week, get a blood test and wait while they tested it before giving me my tablets, such a pain in the ass 🤣 But yeah, I agree with you, it's just a bit more complicated than people think 🤔 🤣

[@cerboris521]

Funny thing is, is that the body can still react to the pain which is why narcotics are often also used. In my case, whilst under, the narcotics didn't works very well (probably because i'd been on opiate painkillers for about 10yrs at that point). My heart rate spiked so high they had to bring me out. I was approaching angina level which is where the heart is pumping so quickly there is no time for the blood to be pumped. Coming out early was really painful and they just pumped drug after drug into me really fast, which also hurt. Fortunately, they had managed to finish the operation before the issue but I had to spend a couple of days in intensive care.

[@downloaddeodeo6063]

We feel a lot more emotional & are easy to upset after multiple operations... uses of anesthetic. This suggests an effect on a particular part of the brain, OR the result of a specific reaction in a specific site in response to a general effect :)

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

I’m going in for surgery next week, and again a couple of weeks from now- so this was extra interesting!

[@laurieparis2203]

Best to you on your surgery! 🌱

[@gorillaguerillaDK]

@@laurieparis2203 Oh, thank you so much! I'm so used to KZbin comments being harsh, that I'm almost lost for words when someone is kind.. Thank you.....

[@laurieparis2203]

@@gorillaguerillaDK You are most welcome! I know the feeling! I always try to avoid general anesthesia, once I tried to get off the operating table, another time my blood pressure plummeted... When I woke up the nurse told me : just don't move, we thought we lost you a couple of times. 😆 Yeesh! It's not the operation I fear, it's the anesthesia! But you'll do great!

[@saulluna9939]

Laurie Paris what surgery did you have?

[@laurieparis2203]

@@saulluna9939 Saul, I'd prefer not to say due to privacy issues. I've prolly said too much already! 😆

[@danparish1344]

When I had shoulder surgery, it felt like I blinked and it was over. 5 hours passed in reality.

[@anatolydyatlov963]

Ichi byō keika...

[@arekwittbrodt]

Honestly? It's like puting rebar into gears to temporary stop your car. The fact that it works and that there are no long-term effect is amazing!

[@lukefranklin5]

This is definitely a niche concept, but I really appreciated it. The only thing we used to know was that anesthesia stopped the formation of memories, not even that it stopped pain. This new discovery made me breathe a sigh of relief because now I can finally be sure that I won’t ever be on an operating table unable to move while a doctor is fishing around in my internal organs.

[@tomcatyyz]

Was just under anesthesia for oral surgery this morning. It never fails to amaze me how quickly it works and how quickly it can be reversed...

[@David-zi9nr]

Thank you very much! I had no idea we just figured out this. Once again thanks for keeping us informed!! 💪🏽

[@hewasfuzzywuzzy3583]

Fun fact: The record for the longest time under anesthesia is held by, James Boydston. He was 26 years of age at the time; the year was 1979. He was anesthetized for 47 hours.

[@rfichokeofdestiny]

There was one woman who was paralyzed by the anasthetic but not put to sleep and not numb to pain. She felt everything throughout the surgery but couldn’t move or speak. They had no idea she was feeling it all until the paralyzing agent wore off. She had terrible nightmares about it for years. Then she had to have surgery again. She told the doctors what had happened last time and they assured her that it wouldn’t happen again. It did.

[@HarryVoyager]

Honestly, this actually scares the beep out of me, and explains why sometimes people just don't wake up from general anesthesia. It pretty much just shorts to ground the main nervous system and depends on the system's ability to reorder itself to sort it all out when you're done. I'm hoping this is followed up by some studies to see why the system is able to turn itself back on after this, and what could be done to make the restarting process more reliable and predictable.

[@pcdeltalink036]

It’s really nothing to be scared of. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been knocked out for various procedures over the years and I’ve never had any bad experiences with anesthesia. As for how the body switches back on, so to speak, I have some general idea already just from the cursory research I’ve done over the years. Basically, a rapid acting drug is used to initiate the knockout such as propofol but the during the surgery a different and slower acting drug is used to maintain the anesthesia and is continually supplied to you during surgery. When surgery ends they simply stop supplying this drug and once the concentration of it in your body is low enough you wake up. Simple as that.

[@robabs4545]

If you don’t wake up from a general anaesthetic then it’s because something else has gone wrong rather than the anaesthetic drugs still having their action. (An anaesthetist)

[@Ceece20]

“Cool for those going into surgery soon” Why do you got to call me out like that man? 🤕

[@saulluna9939]

What surgery are you getting?

[@Ceece20]

@Saul Luna not really surgery but shockwave therapy for my kidney stone, lithotripsy. I will still need to go under anesthesia though because essentially the machine will be kicking me in the kidneys 300 times.

[@kamerons76]

Anesthesia is great I’ve had 4 surgeries so far probably going to be more eventually lol

[@asteri8299]

ikr, i go in on the 22nd for an elective surgery

[@avavancil7806]

Ceece, I feel so bad for you. I’ve heard that kidney stones hurt worse than labor! I hope you feel well soon. Best luck 😊

[@ideoformsun5806]

If I ever am able to time travel, I don't want to go to any time period that there wasn't anesthesia. It makes me very sad that many places around the world, people don't have access to either necessary surgery, or anesthesia.

[@LeahAlareebi]

I’m going into surgery in a few weeks and have had anxiety attacks every day for a month straight because of how scared I am of going under. Thank you for this information

[@TheFeldhamster]

You'll be fine. Just make sure you answer all the questions they give you pre OP correctly, like known allergies and bodyweight and stuff so they know if they have to avoid certain medications and can calculate your dosage better. I had surgery earlier in the year and they do know what they are doing, even if some details how it functions on a molecular level were not understood yet. All the best to you.

[@LeahAlareebi]

TheFeldhamster I appreciate the reassurance. God knows I need it. Thank you ❤️

[@dmeemd7787]

The human body and life in general is so complicated, it's awesome :)

[@michaelposey3321]

Well, I don’t feel dumb for not knowing how anesthesia works. I was one of billions 😂

[@rinmen8794]

ahahah yeah same

[@calmsouls4502]

Me when I see this video: literally in the waiting room for my surgery. Also me: time to communicate with my anesthesiologist on his level

[@GabrielPettier]

hope everything went fine!

[@dianagibbs3550]

As a veterinarian who uses anesthetics on a weekly basis, I am really happy to have this explained finally.

[@dddd2870]

Here's a story for ya - i have the redhead gene and trust me the following is true. One time i came to during a dental procedure and i lost it because i went from being out like a light to waking up to the little Oriental dentist basically on my chest trying to do his work and i just lost it for some reason and went into a coma induced confused short fit of rage... needless to say i got barred from that clinic. I really did feel bad tho and apologized , i was truly sorry for the damage and mess but i was out of my mind for probably 5 seconds but that's all it took. Little known fact: A 2004 study showed that redheads require, on average, about 20 percent more general anesthesia than people with dark hair or blond coloring. And in 2005, researchers found that redheads are more resistant to the effects of local anesthesia, such as the numbing drugs used by dentists.

[@RialuCaos]

True, your genetics can alter the way you metabolize drugs - including anesthetics. In an ideal world, practitioners would be able to take into account everyone's genetic differences and treat them accordingly.

[@peterw1534]

Yes. This is pretty cool. Love it when we solve a mystery. Even partially.

[@011azr]

I still remember when I received general anesthesia for my minor surgery when I was 12 and recently, when I was diagnosed with depression and unable to sleep for several nights. It's so scary how you feel like you just blink, but in reality it's actually several hours. My doctor said that I need to have an upcoming surgery for my appendix and for some reasons, I'm more anxious about the surgery than when I was only 12.

[@surajsahoo4748]

So glad. I really was looking for the answer everywhere last year and finally gave up. But here we are after an year.

[@charlieangkor8649]

We are all lucky that unbearable pain doesn't happen to be encoded in the pain center by the combination of turning all the neurons off.

[@sbomorse]

This was fascinating. What I don't understand is how it only affects our consciousness. I LOVE being put under general anesthesia - I like to count myself out 😁

[@LindysEpiphany]

Yep, and try to stay awake! It's not going to happen but I try. Its amazing to me how out you go. After my hysterectomy I woke in so much pain and you find out they actually take your intestines out then put them back in. How do you NOT wake up with that going on?! Thank God....well thank science for anesthesia and it works even though they didn't know how!

[@mygirldarby]

Michael Jackson was addicted to it. Weird isn't it? I'm terrified of it and you love it. Crazy world.

[@pcdeltalink036]

Honestly, for how many times I’ve been knocked out over the years I find general anesthesia fascinating and now always try to pay careful attention to see how it’s going to affect me. Every surgery it’s a little different. The most recent one was memorable because as the drugs were going in while I was still awake I basically lost my hearing. I could still hear general noises but everything sounded super muffled like I was underwater or something. I had probably 15 more seconds awake and remember thinking “This is new.” and then I was out.

[@augustgreig9420]

I recall a really interesting discussion about this topic and the topic of consciousness that was had between a group of doctors and scientists who were experts in various fields pertaining to the discussion. Sadhguru explained that the western definition of consciousness was much different than the definition of consciousness among Yogi's and other similar practitioners. Sadhguru has participated in a series of tests performed on what they called "Olympic level" meditators, people with over 10,000 hours of meditation. They discovered some very interesting thing, such as how he could nearly instantly produce a constant stream of gamma waves. But most pertinent to this, was that they noticed when they told him to close his eyes, they were getting virtually no readings on his brain activity. He explained that when he closed his eyes, it was just black to him. There was no thoughts or emotions or whatever. So he explained that even when he slept, he coul enter a state very similar to this, so that he could actually remain consciously aware even when he was in dreamless sleep. So he went on to explain that even when you are asleep, or knocked out, or even put under, you are still conscious, but the reason that you don't feel pain is because you don't create memories. So all anasthetics do is prevent you from making memories while you are out under. I find that really interesting.

[@GraystripeSpeedruns]

This is so interesting! I’m glad to finally know the answer.

[@history2873]

Graystripe - until it changes again.... And we will still not know....

[@Get2thecart]

@@history2873 it's a pretty big thing to change, I'm relatively-quite sure this will be the basis for being able to make GA's completely safe

[@katherineflinn53]

“We finally know how this p dangerous thing we use regularly works! Yay!”

[@katherineflinn53]

Tbc, definitely yay. I do agree, yay.

[@capnam_12]

You forgot to change your account In your reply lmao

[@michaelposey3321]

CAPNAM12 do you not know what tbc means 😂

[@katherineflinn53]

Probably thinks it means to be coconuts

[@capnam_12]

@@katherineflinn53 lmao I thought you wrote Tbh wrong but now I'm starting to doubt that

[@phillipsusi1791]

I don't know what antesthetic they used on me in 2000 when they took out my appendix, but waking up from the stuff was the only bad part of that whole experience for me. It was a cycle of wake up, ask for help to get to the bathroom, black out, repeat, very similar to when I got really drunk and high on pot in college. Not something I *ever* want to repeat. In 2017 they used sevoflourane on me when they put in some mesh to plug my inguinal hernias and I woke up from that perfectly fine, ready to stand right up and walk out right away. Sevo is good stuff! I don't know how it works, but it works!

[@foxfur8327]

Philip Susi, also received that drug which terrified me knowing most anesthetists know almost nothing at all about medicine and the serious side effects of these drugs and should not be considered qualified for anything. They are very poorly trained and are the most likely to cause considerable harm to the patient. I didn't know if that drug contained fluoride so feared it. First of all it burnt my veins like fire while being injected and secondly I didn't like the idea of having possible tooth hardener going into my body which might also harden my arteries and secondly, most water is already overloaded with calcium as it is, causing hypercalciumia in many cancer patients (possibly). Somehow it doesn't make sense that a bone and tooth hardener such as fluoride would be clever enough to know it shouldn't also harden the rest of the body. Talk about ignorance, such may also be mine since I myself haven't done enough research.., I can't consider myself an ace in knowledge either, although I do wonder at times why children exposed to more fluoride than average do have lower IQ's as well.

[@robertt9342]

It's nice to see some more science in medical science. It's surprising how little we actually know about medicine and the human body, compared to how much we think we know.

[@SciFactsYT118]

Completely random fact: Melting glaciers and icebergs make a distinctive fizzing noise known as "bergy seltzer".

[@dailydoseofmedicinee]

Anesthesia won't make you confess your deepest secrets It's normal to feel relaxed while receiving anesthesia, but most people don't say anything unusual. Rest assured, even if you do say something you wouldn't normally say while you are under sedation👍

[@phillipsusi1791]

Sedation and anesthetization are two different things. Sedation makes you feel groggy, not feel pain, and you may speak without your normal inhibitions. Under anesthesia, you may as well be dead and then come back. The former is like getting drunk, and the latter is like being switched off and on again like a light.

[@aamirrazak3467]

Well this is pretty cool. It always surprised me how much we used anesthesia but never knew how it worked

[@bordenfleetwood5773]

Damn, but that's a refreshing bit of research! Hopefully it leads to a better understanding of other general anesthetics, as well. Should be an interesting next few years.

[@Suefore-bl4ni]

Who else randomly found "SciShow" one day and has been watching ever since?🍁

[@CreamAle]

So.. Everyone aside from the folks that planned the show before announcing it?

[@HasekuraIsuna]

Can't say I watch every episode, but I have been here for a couple of years!

[@Suefore-bl4ni]

@᪶ ᪶ True

[@cgv9234]

@@HasekuraIsuna same

[@meetaverma8372]

It's called KZbin algorithm

[@allenellisdewitt]

Could this be used to reverse some Comas?

[@foxfur8327]

Allan, interesting, and how can it happen that a woman can sleep for 9 years and wake up pregnant? We really know very little about the brain. When we are dead, how can anyone be sure we are really even dead before they pump us full of fornaldahide, burn us, or pump a needle through the heart or whatever?

[@frglee]

I took part as a volunteer 20 years back into research into diving physiology, specifically the effects of 'nitrogen narcosis' on the brain at depth on functionality, logical thinking and decision making. This was simulated using various mixes of entonox (nitrous oxide and oxygen, commonly used as an anaesthetic) and assessing my reactions working on various computer games and logic tests. I was told then by one of the researchers that no-one really knew how anaesthetics worked, and presumably they had a similarly limited understanding of the effect of nitrogen under pressure on diver's brains. Perhaps the two are similar?

[@elicather8168]

I was put under anesthesia for the first time about 6 weeks ago, and I was surprised how much I didn’t remember. All I remember is walking in, seeing my doctor, being directed by nurses how to lay down, and then I woke up an hour an a half later! Still kinda freaks me out.

[@Axodus]

Wow, interesting, seems pretty drastic, I wonder how your brain is able to repair all that?

[@pcdeltalink036]

As far as my knowledge goes it’s like any other drug. As the concentration in your body drops, the effects wear off. Anesthesia usually has fairly short half lives so this is why they have to continually supply it to you during surgery.

[@phodon129]

More importantly, can it finally lead to a way to monitor if it actually worked or if it has just paralyzed you?

[@charlesajones77]

What? Pretty sure if it just paralyzed you, we would have heard about it from some of the many people who've had major surgery while under anesthesia. Heck, I've got two family members who've had heart transplants. The recovery is what's painful.

[@johnpossum556]

@@charlesajones77 It is a thing. Ideally it is supposed to induce temporary amnesia, and it works for me as I've been under 20+ times but it doesn't work for everybody.

[@comethawk2663]

@@charlesajones77 There are lots of reports of people being paralyzed during their procedure and remembering just bits and pieces afterwards instead of nothing, while their doctors thought they were unconscious as normal. There have even been studies done which suggest at least a large portion of anesthesia patients are conscious during surgery, or that they show signs of trauma afterwards even if they don't remember it.

[@annoloki]

@@johnpossum556 It's not amnesia, it's unconsciousness

[@charlesajones77]

@@comethawk2663 Yikes. Did not know that.

[@madansharma2700]

Well made video. Kudos to the script writer in particular. The presenter did a very good job too. Please accept my compliments.

[@RaExpIn]

I recently tested the effects of diethyl ether on the venus fly trap and mimosa pudica. And when doing my research I came across the two theories, which was pretty interesting! Nice to see, that this could be found out, at least partially.

[@crazycat1380]

Like a switch on your neurons, where you use chemicals to toggle the switch.

[@Bassotronics]

What a coincidence. Yesterday I was watching a video about a Neutron Star heading our way and I was saying to myself that I would want to have anesthesia to put me to sleep before that happens so I don’t feel the spaghettification. And now I get a notification saying about how anesthesia works. Pretty awesome timing.

[@lakshaya]

thanku for all the research sir

[@highstepnightowl]

Can you talk about the differences between regular anesthesia and the type of anesthesia they use for people susceptible to hyperthermia? Or at least the different kinds period? Do they work differently or are the origins of the mixture just different?

[@jonathankirchberger5526]

Just got out of the dentist 2 hours ago and I had to get 11 Novacaine shots because the first 4 didn’t work, the left half of my face and tongue is still numb

[@McBehrer]

Do you have red hair?

[@sujimtangerines]

Glad I'm not the only one. Had inpatient debridement done for Osteomyelitis and after 10 shots, I was trying to tell the dental surgeon I could still feel pain (actual pain, not pressure), but my mouth was too numb to work and she went on with the procedure. If it's ever something I need done again I will demand general. More painful than giving birth was. (And, coincidentally, my epidural was only partially effective. Still had a large section of my uterus on the right side that I could feel, and all the pain was centered there so it was worse in some ways than when I didn't have the block.)

[@johnpossum556]

@Jonathon Kirchberger Next time take a few ibuprofen before you go. Anesthetics do not tend to work well on already inflamed tissues & taking the ibuprofen will help the anesthetic work way better. You are welcome.

[@jonathankirchberger5526]

John Possum thanks I’ve got another appointment next week I’ll try this, hopefully I won’t need 11 shots again

[@jonathankirchberger5526]

McBehrer no I do not have red hair

[@JustADioWhosAHeroForFun]

_Wait you're telling us the whole time Doctors didn't know how anesthetic work?!_

[@JDoawp]

Yes.

[@AgentDRJ]

It is sort of like how there are millions of people that are using the internet without exactly knowing the internet's network works. Or how you don't need to know methods for solving for square roots to get square roots from a calculator. You just need to know how to give a good input to get an applicable output. The doctors learned how to give a good input to get an applicable output.

[@Robb403]

A better understanding for how anesthesia drugs work, can hopefully aid in developing better methods of measuring the level of anesthesia in a patients which has been a nightmare for surgeons and anesthesiologists. An accurate means of measuring would increase the accuracy of dosing and reducing the rare occurrence of operating on an awake patient.

[@heroichitsuji]

great to know we’ve been using something we aren’t really sure how or why it works... just that it does. now that I think about it this probably applies to a lot of things

[@KarlBunker]

"Neither shall there be any more pain." -- From the Book of Revelations, inscription on the monument commemorating the use of ether in anesthesia, located in the Boston Public Garden.

[@LothairApoclyane]

How do I get my lipid rafts back after you burst them apart?

[@Get2thecart]

They regenerate, like most cells in the body

[@KellyClowers]

Eat more bacon

[@lh3540]

The last time I got knocked out, it was for my tonsils & I forced myself to sober up, and made a giant show of being "normal", but was really just like, "Hello good sir! May I please have my glasses as the room is spinning, thank you." You really have to applaud recovery nurses for not laughing all day.

[@mal9369]

This is so fascinating! I wonder if we could make an artificial PLD2 to have a more controlled opening of the potassium gates and circumvent the risks of anesthesia? Hopefully this discovery will lead to safer and more effective products. Thanks for always putting out quality informative videos!

[@MxDiagnosis]

You're telling me we DIDN'T know this WHOLE time???

[@history2873]

Karah Comben - there are more important things they can do nothing about.... Nail fungus.... ,!!!

[@Get2thecart]

yah pretty much, we knew how to use it, we knew what it was and did. We also knew it had no lasting side effects. Just didn't *quite* know how it functioned in the body, but this gives a great insight and hopefully the full truth will come out, exciting!

[@charlesajones77]

Makes you wonder, how did they figure out to do this in the first place?

[@johnpossum556]

@@history2873 Tea Tree Oil has worked for me. Also Potassium Permagnate is supposed to work for harder cases. You can get it on ebay.

[@Wakish0069]

@ My foot doctor told me there's nothing he can do about my toenail fungus.,I've just been dipping my feet in vinegar mixtures and have been seeing marked improvement myself. The guy told me it would do literally nothing but yeah he wasn't even worth the $85 I paid to talk to him

[@ts25679]

Surgeons don't use anaesthesia, it's your anaesthetic team who do that. Anesthetists are the talented doctors who keep you alive, asleep and pain free whilst the surgeons do their part.

[@johnpossum556]

This is the video I have been waiting for. Now can you do one about why alcohol is not a good anesthetic and also why chronic pain is so hard to treat?

[@jackavle]

I still remember my wisdom teeth extraction when my anaesthesia didn't work, at all. And I felt all the pain from the drilling, digging, and yanking of my teeth.

[@THE-X-Force]

" *We Finally* *_Literally Still Don't_* *Know How Anesthesia Works* "

[@krisspkriss]

I know right? I came here thinking "Wow, that is ground breaking and would have clues to the keys of consciousness!" Naw, not so much. Lipid rafts.... and we still have no clue as to how they work. Now I need a Dr Stuart Hamerhoff video for a fix.

[@kenlogsdon7095]

My question is, if the anesthetics are powerful enough to disrupt neuron function to the point of shutting down the Thalamocortical Cognition Cycle (basis of consciousness), why doesn't the heart stop beating since it depends on working neurons as well?

[@ravenhi]

@@kenlogsdon7095 the answer partly lies in your question already. It does inhibit conscious thought, but do you constantly think about telling your heart to beat? The heart has its own pacemaker, the sinus node, which is semiautonomous and lies within the heart itself. I imagine if anaesthesia is directly injected into the SA/AV node it may cause heart flutter or fatal bradycardia but i don't think we've ever tried.

[@kenlogsdon7095]

@@ravenhi In that case, my question becomes, what's the difference between the neurons making up the SA/AV node and the ones in the brain, such that they are less influenced by the anesthesia? I mean, I am assuming that the anesthesia is carried by the blood to all of the organs in equal amounts. Perhaps I am mistaken in that regard?

[@ravenhi]

@@kenlogsdon7095 Hi, your curiosity is well placed - but indeed there's something you quite misunderstand. Different types of drugs are distributed differently throughout the body, not all of them are distributed equally. There are a lot of factors for this, but in the context of the video, we'll focus on 2 things, particularly for general anaesthesia, and these are 1) solubility, and 2) vascularity. There are 2 main types of drugs in terms of solubility, that is, lipophillic (or hydrophobic) or lipophobic/ionised (or hydrophilic). The former means they bind or dissolve in fat while the latter dissolve in water. We know that the brain and spinal cord are lipid rich, so your common inhalational anaesthesia like sevoflurane will bind to the brain and spinal cord tissues first, then the muscles, then adipose, then the rest. But you might be asking, "why adipose last? Isn't that almost pure fat?" Well, now we move to the second factor, vascularity. It is the measure of how much blood flows in and out a given tissue. Brain and spinal cord are highly vascularised for obvious reasons, so the drug binds there first, since it's also rich in lipid. Now adipose, although rich in lipid, is not highly vascularised, so gets less of the amount of the drug in circulation. And the rest of the organs, like the heart, are last because although well vascularised, are poor binding sites for the drug in question because of low lipid concentration. So to have a concentration high enough to be able to affect the heart itself, one must have first taken massive (and possibly, irreversibly fatal) doses of anaesthesia to the brain and spinal cord first.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

When I got both of my colonoscopies I mentioned to the anesthesiologists that I'd rather not remember the procedures. The next thing I remember is my Wife saying it's time to go home. Versed is a wonderful drug.

[@johnpossum556]

I don't think it's the versed that does that. Versed is more an anti spasmotic.

[@phillipsusi1791]

That's not anesthesia. For colonoscopies they just give you a sedative or anti anxiety medication. You may or may not remember much of it but you're awake the whole time. Anesthesia puts you into a coma.

[@NautilusMusic]

I honestly thought this would be a question I might not be alive for when they finally found an answer. Even last year I was hearing "scientists have no idea how it works" and thinking to myself "if they have no idea at all, it won't be answered for at least decades to come"

[@brittanyblakeley2174]

I've been waiting for this question to be answered for YEARS

[@Starfals]

Must have been horrible to have surgeries pre-anesthesia. I dont even wanna imagine it.

[@taakotuesdays]

well let me assist! the goal was to be real fast with it and hope the patient didn't scream too much

[@Aerma]

I've visited a room they used to do pre-anesthesia surgeries in. From the descriptions, it's just as bad as you would imagine-but there's more. The room is circular, and all around the perimeter are rows of seats. Medical students are the audience. It's maybe a hundred+ people watching and taking notes as a fully conscious person gets horribly painful surgery. You're welcome :3

[@melz6625]

my mom did in 1953 Post-war Germany, she was 3 and they had to close her cleft palate. She was pinned down by 6 men. Later she went, got dressed and wanted to leave. Had her little luggage packed and everything. Just couldn’t bind her shoelaces yet. She’s been traumatized since and didn’t even want to go to the doctor when she broke her foot. You cannot hold her or touch her from behind or above when she lays down without her getting a panic attack. So yeah we’re VERY lucky to have anesthesia now

[@thebasketballhistorian3291]

If I lived in those times, I would have taken the strongest opium I could find right before my surgery.

[@Starfals]

@@thebasketballhistorian3291 Thats a pretty good idea actually, tho.. i wonder how long it needs to get you hooked up and addicted. Probably getting drunk on max would have a little bit as well?

[@lilrobbie2k]

Doctor: "We're going to need to anesthetize you for this surgical procedure." Me: "Ok. So, how does that work, exactly? Doctor: "I. Don't. Know." Me: Doctor: "Ok, welp - good night!"

[@JessitoBG]

I was under anesthesia earlier today. Its weird this video was in my suggestions, but it was interesting. Thanks!

[@BitWoof]

Please do a video on side-effects of general anesthesia, including the permanent ones.