block anesthesia

5.2

A way to make part of the body numb by putting medicine near a nerve

noun
/blɑk əˈniːsθə/

Specialized

: anestesia regional

The doctor used block anesthesia to numb her leg before the surgery.

Examples

During the operation, the surgeon relied on block anesthesia to ensure the patient felt no discomfort.
Patients often prefer block anesthesia because it reduces pain during long procedures.
The procedure is performed under regional block anesthesia.

Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

local anesthesia

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

3 4.4

A loss of feeling in a small part of the body after medicine numbs it

applies to a nerve to numb the area supplied rather than simple surface numbing

pudendal block

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

1 8.6

An injection that numbs the nerves near the vagina to reduce pain during childbirth

applies to any nerve supplying an area rather than one specific pelvic nerve

nerve block anesthesia

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

4.3

A way to numb one body part by injecting medicine near a nerve

applies agent directly to the nerve rather than near it

conduction anesthesia

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

5.6

A way to numb part of the body by putting medicine near the nerve that carries feeling from that area

focuses on blocking nerve conduction rather than naming the supplied area

regional anesthesia

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

4.1

Numbs a part of the body so you do not feel pain during surgery

targets a single nerve directly rather than numbing a larger region

saddle block anesthesia

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

6.8

A method that numbs the area that would touch a saddle by injecting medicine near the spine

applies agent to a nerve to numb its supply rather than spinal cord

caudal block

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

7.1

An injection of pain medicine into the lower part of the spine to numb the lower body for surgery

applies agent to individual nerves instead of through spinal canal injection

paracervical block

vsblock anesthesia

Specialized

9.7

An injection of numbing medicine beside the cervix to reduce pain during childbirth

targets specific nerves for their supply rather than injection near an organ

Surface Forms

block anesthesia singular

block anesthesias plural

Morphology

block + anesthesia

The noun phrase is directly compositional: combining 'block' (to obstruct or stop transmission) with 'anesthesia' (loss of sensation) yields the plausible meaning 'anesthesia produced by blocking nerve conduction'. Although a medical/technical term, the relation follows standard modifier+noun composition and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Block anesthesia gets its name from the idea of a block that stops messages in a nerve. A doctor puts medicine near the nerve to stop the pain messages so the area becomes 'numb', so block anesthesia means numbing only the area served by that nerve.