Thoracic Spinal Anesthesia

Abstract

In 1909 Thomas Jonnesco published his interesting paper under the title General spinal anesthesia through an approach of the subarachnoid space at a thoracic level, providing condition for surgery on the skull, head, neck and thorax. Etherington-Wilson proposed explaining the various possibilities for the spinal anesthesia. Leonardo da Vinci was considered the discoverer of Human and animal Anatomy. Image techniques have opened a gret new field for the study of anatomy in the living man. The modern means of image, associated to computed means have facilitated the evaluation of the CSF volume, through antero-posterior and height measures of the subarachnoid space based on bi-dimentional studies of MRI. The studies of the thoracic column with MRI show that exist a space between the dura-mater and the spinal cord (medula). Thoracic ouncture performed with needles proved safe and without neurological injury. Thoracic spinal anesthesia is a viable procedure, with a low incidence of hypotension and did not present any neurologic problem.