TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Steven Zheng: How does anesthesia work?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

If you've had surgery, you might remember sntraitg to count backwards from ten, nine, eight, and then waking up with the surgery already over before you even got to five. And it might seem like you were asleep, but you weren't. You were under anesthesia, which is much more cetoilcmapd. You were uccousonins, but you also couldn't move, form memories, or, hopefully, feel pain. Without being able to bolck all those processes at once, many surgeries would be way too traumatic to perform. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Asia and the Middle East all describe early anesthetics containing things like opium pppoy, mrdnakae furit, and alcohol. Today, anesthesiologists often combine regional, inhalational and innetaouvrs agents to get the right balance for a surgery. Regional anesthesia blocks pain sgailns from a specific part of the body from getting to the brain. Pain and other mseseags travel through the nervous system as electrical impulses. Regional anesthetics work by sttenig up an electrical barricade. They bind to the ptinroes in neurons' cell mbrenmaes that let charged particles in and out, and lock out positively charged particles. One compound that does this is cioacne, whose painkilling effects were discovered by accident when an ophthalmology intern got some on his tongue. It's still occasionally used as an aeinhettsc, but many of the more cmoomn regional anesthetics have a similar chemical structure and work the same way. But for major srgueeris where you need to be unconscious, you'll want something that acts on the entire nervous styesm, including the brain. That's what inhalational anesthetics do. In Western medicine, diethyl ether was the first common one. It was best known as a recreational drug until doctors srttaed to raeizle that people sometimes didn't notice injuries they received under the influence. In the 1840s, they started sdnetaig patients with ether during dental extractions and surgeries. Nitrous oxide became popular in the decades that followed and is still used tdoay. although ether derivatives, like sevoflurane, are more common. Inhalational ahenstiesa is usually supplemented with intravenous anesthesia, which was developed in the 1870s. Common intravenous agents include sedatives, like poporofl, which induce unconsciousness, and opioids, like fentanyl, which rducee pain. These general anesthetics also seem to work by aftifecng electrical signals in the nervous system. Normally, the brain's electrical signals are a chaotic chorus as different parts of the brain communicate with each other. That connectivity keeps you awake and aware. But as someone becomes anesthetized, those signals become calmer and more ornaziged, suggesting that different parts of the brain aren't talking to each other anymore. There's a lot we still don't know about exactly how this happens. Several common atheitcesns bind to the GABA-A receptor in the brain's nuoenrs. They hold the gatawey open, lentitg negatively charged particles flow into the cell. Negative charge builds up and acts like a log jam, keeping the neuron from transmitting eccreilatl signals. The nrveuos system has lots of these gated channels, controlling pyaawths for movement, memory, and consciousness. Most anesthetics probably act on more than one, and they don't act on just the nervous system. Many anesthetics also affect the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Just like early anesthetics, which included familiar poisons like hemlock and aconite, modern drugs can have serious side eecftfs. So an aeeniisostghslot has to mix just the right balance of drugs to create all the features of anesthesia, while carefully monitoring the patient's vaitl signs, and adjusting the drug mixture as neeedd. Anesthesia is complicated, but figuring out how to use it aellwod for the dmvloeepent of new and better surgical techniques. Surgeons could learn how to routinely and safely perform C-sections, reopen blocked arteries, replace damaged livers and kidneys, and many other life-saving operations. And each year, new anesthesia techniques are developed that will ensure more and more patients survive the trauma of surgery.

Open Cloze

If you've had surgery, you might remember ________ to count backwards from ten, nine, eight, and then waking up with the surgery already over before you even got to five. And it might seem like you were asleep, but you weren't. You were under anesthesia, which is much more ___________. You were ___________, but you also couldn't move, form memories, or, hopefully, feel pain. Without being able to _____ all those processes at once, many surgeries would be way too traumatic to perform. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Asia and the Middle East all describe early anesthetics containing things like opium _____, ________ _____, and alcohol. Today, anesthesiologists often combine regional, inhalational and ___________ agents to get the right balance for a surgery. Regional anesthesia blocks pain _______ from a specific part of the body from getting to the brain. Pain and other ________ travel through the nervous system as electrical impulses. Regional anesthetics work by _______ up an electrical barricade. They bind to the ________ in neurons' cell _________ that let charged particles in and out, and lock out positively charged particles. One compound that does this is _______, whose painkilling effects were discovered by accident when an ophthalmology intern got some on his tongue. It's still occasionally used as an __________, but many of the more ______ regional anesthetics have a similar chemical structure and work the same way. But for major _________ where you need to be unconscious, you'll want something that acts on the entire nervous ______, including the brain. That's what inhalational anesthetics do. In Western medicine, diethyl ether was the first common one. It was best known as a recreational drug until doctors _______ to _______ that people sometimes didn't notice injuries they received under the influence. In the 1840s, they started ________ patients with ether during dental extractions and surgeries. Nitrous oxide became popular in the decades that followed and is still used _____. although ether derivatives, like sevoflurane, are more common. Inhalational __________ is usually supplemented with intravenous anesthesia, which was developed in the 1870s. Common intravenous agents include sedatives, like ________, which induce unconsciousness, and opioids, like fentanyl, which ______ pain. These general anesthetics also seem to work by _________ electrical signals in the nervous system. Normally, the brain's electrical signals are a chaotic chorus as different parts of the brain communicate with each other. That connectivity keeps you awake and aware. But as someone becomes anesthetized, those signals become calmer and more _________, suggesting that different parts of the brain aren't talking to each other anymore. There's a lot we still don't know about exactly how this happens. Several common ___________ bind to the GABA-A receptor in the brain's _______. They hold the _______ open, _______ negatively charged particles flow into the cell. Negative charge builds up and acts like a log jam, keeping the neuron from transmitting __________ signals. The _______ system has lots of these gated channels, controlling ________ for movement, memory, and consciousness. Most anesthetics probably act on more than one, and they don't act on just the nervous system. Many anesthetics also affect the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Just like early anesthetics, which included familiar poisons like hemlock and aconite, modern drugs can have serious side _______. So an ________________ has to mix just the right balance of drugs to create all the features of anesthesia, while carefully monitoring the patient's _____ signs, and adjusting the drug mixture as ______. Anesthesia is complicated, but figuring out how to use it _______ for the ___________ of new and better surgical techniques. Surgeons could learn how to routinely and safely perform C-sections, reopen blocked arteries, replace damaged livers and kidneys, and many other life-saving operations. And each year, new anesthesia techniques are developed that will ensure more and more patients survive the trauma of surgery.

Solution

organized
anesthetics
neurons
block
effects
needed
signals
nervous
starting
electrical
mandrake
cocaine
gateway
poppy
membranes
unconscious
intravenous
common
anesthesia
setting
development
today
vital
letting
realize
propofol
proteins
pathways
system
complicated
affecting
fruit
anesthetic
sedating
allowed
started
anesthesiologist
messages
reduce
surgeries

Original Text

If you've had surgery, you might remember starting to count backwards from ten, nine, eight, and then waking up with the surgery already over before you even got to five. And it might seem like you were asleep, but you weren't. You were under anesthesia, which is much more complicated. You were unconscious, but you also couldn't move, form memories, or, hopefully, feel pain. Without being able to block all those processes at once, many surgeries would be way too traumatic to perform. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Asia and the Middle East all describe early anesthetics containing things like opium poppy, mandrake fruit, and alcohol. Today, anesthesiologists often combine regional, inhalational and intravenous agents to get the right balance for a surgery. Regional anesthesia blocks pain signals from a specific part of the body from getting to the brain. Pain and other messages travel through the nervous system as electrical impulses. Regional anesthetics work by setting up an electrical barricade. They bind to the proteins in neurons' cell membranes that let charged particles in and out, and lock out positively charged particles. One compound that does this is cocaine, whose painkilling effects were discovered by accident when an ophthalmology intern got some on his tongue. It's still occasionally used as an anesthetic, but many of the more common regional anesthetics have a similar chemical structure and work the same way. But for major surgeries where you need to be unconscious, you'll want something that acts on the entire nervous system, including the brain. That's what inhalational anesthetics do. In Western medicine, diethyl ether was the first common one. It was best known as a recreational drug until doctors started to realize that people sometimes didn't notice injuries they received under the influence. In the 1840s, they started sedating patients with ether during dental extractions and surgeries. Nitrous oxide became popular in the decades that followed and is still used today. although ether derivatives, like sevoflurane, are more common. Inhalational anesthesia is usually supplemented with intravenous anesthesia, which was developed in the 1870s. Common intravenous agents include sedatives, like propofol, which induce unconsciousness, and opioids, like fentanyl, which reduce pain. These general anesthetics also seem to work by affecting electrical signals in the nervous system. Normally, the brain's electrical signals are a chaotic chorus as different parts of the brain communicate with each other. That connectivity keeps you awake and aware. But as someone becomes anesthetized, those signals become calmer and more organized, suggesting that different parts of the brain aren't talking to each other anymore. There's a lot we still don't know about exactly how this happens. Several common anesthetics bind to the GABA-A receptor in the brain's neurons. They hold the gateway open, letting negatively charged particles flow into the cell. Negative charge builds up and acts like a log jam, keeping the neuron from transmitting electrical signals. The nervous system has lots of these gated channels, controlling pathways for movement, memory, and consciousness. Most anesthetics probably act on more than one, and they don't act on just the nervous system. Many anesthetics also affect the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Just like early anesthetics, which included familiar poisons like hemlock and aconite, modern drugs can have serious side effects. So an anesthesiologist has to mix just the right balance of drugs to create all the features of anesthesia, while carefully monitoring the patient's vital signs, and adjusting the drug mixture as needed. Anesthesia is complicated, but figuring out how to use it allowed for the development of new and better surgical techniques. Surgeons could learn how to routinely and safely perform C-sections, reopen blocked arteries, replace damaged livers and kidneys, and many other life-saving operations. And each year, new anesthesia techniques are developed that will ensure more and more patients survive the trauma of surgery.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
nervous system	4
electrical signals	3
intravenous agents	2
regional anesthetics	2

Important Words

accident
aconite
act
acts
adjusting
affect
affecting
agents
alcohol
allowed
ancient
anesthesia
anesthesiologist
anesthesiologists
anesthetic
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anesthetized
anymore
arteries
asia
asleep
awake
aware
balance
barricade
bind
block
blocked
blocks
body
brain
builds
calmer
carefully
cell
channels
chaotic
charge
charged
chemical
chorus
cocaine
combine
common
communicate
complicated
compound
connectivity
consciousness
controlling
count
create
damaged
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dental
derivatives
describe
developed
development
diethyl
discovered
doctors
drug
drugs
early
east
effects
egypt
electrical
ensure
entire
ether
extractions
familiar
features
feel
fentanyl
figuring
flow
form
fruit
gated
gateway
general
heart
hemlock
hold
impulses
include
included
including
induce
influence
inhalational
injuries
intern
intravenous
jam
keeping
kidneys
learn
letting
livers
lock
log
lot
lots
lungs
major
mandrake
medical
medicine
membranes
memories
memory
messages
middle
mix
mixture
modern
monitoring
move
movement
needed
negative
negatively
nervous
neuron
neurons
nitrous
notice
occasionally
open
operations
ophthalmology
opioids
opium
organized
organs
oxide
pain
painkilling
part
particles
parts
pathways
patients
people
perform
poisons
poppy
popular
positively
processes
propofol
proteins
realize
received
receptor
recreational
reduce
regional
remember
reopen
replace
routinely
safely
sedating
sedatives
setting
sevoflurane
side
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signs
similar
specific
started
starting
structure
suggesting
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surgeons
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surgical
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texts
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traumatic
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western
work
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