anesthesia of the lower half of the body; caused by injury to the spinal cord or by injecting an anesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane that surrounds the spinal cord

A type of medication that produces temporary loss of sensation below the area of injection into the spinal cord without loss of consciousness. Also called epidural anesthesia.

Numbing of the lower half of the body; unlike an epidural, the catheter is not left in place

injection of an anesthetic into the area around the spinal cord to block pain sensation during surgery.

A form of anesthesia in which medication is inserted into the spinal column to block any painful sensations that might be felt from the point of insertion down to the lower extremities. The donor is conscious under this form of anesthesia. Nearly five percent of NMDP donors receive spinal anesthesia.