'''General anaesthesia''' (UK) or '''general anesthesia''' (US) is a method of medically inducedinducing loss of [[consciousness]] that renders thea patient unarousable even with painful stimuli.<ref name=":10">{{cite web | work = American Society of Anesthesiologists. | title = Position on Monitored Anesthesia Care | quote = Approved by the House of Delegates on October 25, 2005, and last amended on October 17, 2018 | url = http://www.asahq.org/~/media/Sites/ASAHQ/Files/Public/Resources/standards-guidelines/position-on-monitored-anesthesia-care.pdf | access-date = 6 November 2022 }}</ref> This effect is achieved by administering either intravenous or inhalational general anaesthetic medications, which often act in combination with an [[analgesic]] and [[neuromuscular blocking agent]]. Spontaneous ventilation is often inadequate during the procedure and intervention is often necessary to protect the airway.<ref name=":10" /> General anaesthesia is generally performed in an [[operating theater]] to allow surgical procedures that would otherwise be intolerably painful for a patient, or in an [[intensive care unit]] or [[emergency department]] to facilitate [[endotracheal intubation]] and mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients.
A variety of [[General anesthetic|drugs]] may be administered, with the overall goal of achieving [[unconsciousness]], [[amnesia]], [[analgesia]], loss of reflexes of the [[autonomic nervous system]], and in some cases [[paralysis]] of [[skeletal muscle]]s. The optimal combination of anesthetics for any given patient and procedure is typically selected by an [[anesthesiologist|anaesthetist]], or another provider such as a [[nurse anesthetist|nurse anaesthetist]] (depending on local practice and law), in consultation with the patient and the [[surgeon]], dentist, or other practitioner performing the operative procedure.<ref name=":11" />