Spinal anaesthesia

Spinal anaesthesia (or spinal anesthesia), also called spinal block, subarachnoid block (SAB), intradural block and intrathecal block, is a form of regional anaesthesia involving injection of a local anaesthetic into the subarachnoid space, generally through a fine needle, usually 9 cm long (3.5 inches). For extremely obese patients longer needles are available (12.7 cm / 5 inches). The tip of the spinal needle has a point or small bevel. Recently, pencil point needles have been made available (Whitacre, Sprotte, Gertie Marx & others).