Every specialist, at present, is confronted with the fact that it is continually becoming more difficult to remain 'up to date'. The areas in which he must read are expanding while the individual publications are becoming greater in number, larger in content and appear more frequently. The choice of the subject was not easy. This time we have selected the pharmacological aspects of anaesthesiology as our main topic, as a continu ation of the Boerhaave course in 1971. Although we know that a drug works, the mechanism behind this action is of great importance. The pharmacokinetics and side...

The 1973 Boerhaave Course in Leiden on Measurement in Anaesthesia was composed of the lectures included in this book, supplemented by the series of 'lecture demonstrations' organised by Dr. P. Cliffe and given by the members of the Departments of Clinical Measurement and the Magill Department of Anaesthetics, Westminster Hospital, London. The aim of the 1973 Boerhaave Course on Measurement in Anaesthesia was designed to arouse interest in this subject where it has not already occurred. The subjects discussed in the lectures and presented in this book were those that were considered topical...

During the past twenty years there has been a rapid evolution in anaesthesia, so much so, that we stand on the brink of a major change in the role of the anaesthetist in medicine. Anaesthesia has now emerged from being a craft speciality, obsessed with details of techniques, to become a science concerned with the maintenance of life. As a result of our better understanding of the physiological and pharmacological effects of anaesthesia and surgery, new opportunities have been created for anaesthetists to apply their particular knowledge, not only to provide better and safer conditions for...