Chapter 21
- Cerebral Physiology and the Effects of Anesthetics and Techniques
- Piyush M. Patel
- John C. Drummond
The effects of anesthetic drugs and techniques on cerebral physiology
and, in particular, their effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism are
reviewed in this chapter. The final section presents a brief discussion of pathophysiologic
states, including cerebral ischemia, and cerebral protection. The chapter gives
the most emphasis to information that is of immediate relevance to the rationale
for the anesthetic and intensive care management of patients with intracranial pathology.
Chapter 53
presents the
clinical management of these patients in detail. Neurologic monitoring, including
the effects of anesthetics on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and evoked responses,
is reviewed in Chapter 38
.
