Anesthesiology is the science that studies the use of medicine to prevent the feeling of pain and other sensations, induced by certain interventions or drugs, to permit the performance of surgery or other painful procedures.
Anesthesia is the term commonly used to refer to the drugs and/or techniques implemented to achieve this goal. Given as an injection (in a vein or muscle) or as inhaled gases through a mask, anesthesia affects the nervous system by blocking nerve impulses that transmit pain and other sensations to the brain..
An anesthesiologist is a doctor who specializes in giving and managing anesthetics — the medications that numb an area of the body or help you fall and stay asleep. These highly trained professionals use a wide variety of safe, modern medications and extremely sophisticated monitoring technology.
The anesthesiologist will administer medications during your procedure and will also: monitor your vital functions (such as blood oxygen levels, respirations, heart rate and rhythm, blood pressure, body temperature) during surgery manage any problems that might arise during surgery address any pain you may have after surgery keep you as comfortable as possible before, during, and after surgery.
A specially trained nurse anesthetist, who works with the anesthesiologist, may assist in giving you anesthesia (although the anesthesiologist will be the one to manage the anesthesia and make all major anesthesia-related decisions during the operation).