regional anesthesia, 1. anesthesia provided by injecting a local anesthetic to block a group of sensory nerve fibers. The tissues are anesthetized layer by layer, as the surgeon approaches the deeper structures of the body. Regional anesthesia has largely replaced local anesthesia for major procedures. Compare general anesthesia, local anesthesia, topical anesthesia. Kinds include Bier block, brachial plexus anesthesia, caudal anesthesia, conduction anesthesia, epidural anesthesia/analgesia, paracervical block, pudendal block, spinal anesthesia. See also anesthesia. 2. (in dentistry) the loss of sensation to pain, temperature, and pressure of a tooth, teeth, jaw, and soft tissue caused by deposit of a local anesthetic agent in close proximity to a nerve or nerves. Compare block anesthesia, def. 2, local infiltration of anesthesia. Kinds include posterior superior alveolar block, middle superior alveolar block, anterior superior alveolar block.
