What is a nerve block?

Question

I know I have asked like a million questions, but it seems every time I go to volunteer in the recovery room @ my hospital, I hear yet another new term and wonder of its meaning...

So what is a nerve block...?

Thanks =]]]]

Answer 1

It's a type of anesthesia. Certain medications are injected next to a nerve. The drug blocks pain impulses from the nerve.

They're used when general anesthesia isn't needed or wanted.

Answer 2

The same agents (lidocaine or bupivacaine, for example) used in local anesthesia can be injected around a nerve proximal to the site of surgery, numbing the entire area of the nerve's distribution. Injecting around the median nerve at the wrist, for instance, numbs a good portion of the hand.