anesthesia

Move over, epidurals, here comes nitrous oxide. After enjoying popularity in the U.S. for managing labor pain until the mid-20th century, it was dropped in favor of anesthesia. Now it's back.

Surgery can be emotionally and physically stressful for children. A California anesthesiologist has come up with a way to reduce anxiety that's safer, cheaper and much more entertaining.

Most studies of music's ability to ease pain have been small. But an analysis pooling the best research builds a strong case, doctors say, that a dose of music reduces the need for painkilling pills.

Humiliation, fear and unpredictability all turn up the volume on pain, research shows. And meditation can turn down pain's intensity, according to scientists who are starting to figure out why.

Frustrated by anesthesia machines that conked out when the power faltered, Dr. Paul Fenton came up with a solution: The Universal Anesthesia Machine.