Preface to the Sixth Edition
The Fifth Edition of Anesthesia
is widely recognized as the most complete and thorough analysis and presentation
in the specialty of anesthesiology. As with past editions, all contributing authors
were instructed to revise their chapters in a manner that ensured a contemporary
treatment of the subject matter. The Sixth Edition was designed to retain all of
the strengths of the Fifth Edition, in addition to responding to the new and challenging
aspects of our specialty. To help us with that analysis, Dr. Lee A. Fleisher, the
Chair of Anesthesia at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Roger A. Johns, Professor
of Anesthesia at Johns Hopkins University, and Drs. Jeanine P. Wiener-Kronish and
William L. Young, both Vice Chairs of Anesthesia at the University of California-San
Francisco were added to the team of consulting editors.
We decided to add new chapters on implantable cardiac pulse generators;
civil, chemical, and biologic warfare; anesthesia for robotic surgery; perioperative
blindness; complementary and alternative therapies finding information on the Internet;
and human performance in patient safety. These chapters represent major issues that
have affected not only anesthesiology but medicine in general. All of the remaining
chapters are fully revised and updated, including new author teams on many chapters,
which facilitates the offering of contemporary information in a thorough and clinically
relevant manner.
A new feature of this work is the e-dition™
website, which will be started this year. This website provides regular weekly updates
from experts in the field, so that Anesthesia can
stay current year after year. Full text, illustrations, and videos are provided
and are fully searchable. You can download illustrations to PowerPoint to enhance
your presentations and lectures. References are linked to Medline or directly to
full-text articles where available, which will expand your search capabilities.
Other added-value features include drug information from the Mosby Drug Consult,
sample test questions, and important anesthesiology-related web links.
We wish to acknowledge the long-term participation of Roy F. Cucchiara,
Edward D. Miller Jr., J. Gerald Reves, and Michael F. Roizen, who all served as consulting
editors on the previous edition. We are grateful for the tireless help of Dosia
Matthews, who handled all communication with contributors and the publisher and facilitated
the traffic of manuscripts and page proofs. We also wish to acknowledge the support
of dedicated staff at Elsevier — Publisher Natasha Andjelkovic, Senior Developmental
Editor Ann Ruzycka Anderson, Project Managers Jodi Kaye and Mary Anne Folcher, Publishing
Services Manager Tina Rebane, Multimedia Producer Bruce Robison, Design Manager Steven
Stave, and Marketing Manager Emily McGrath-Christie.
Ronald D. Miller M.D.
Chairman,
Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care
University of California-San Francisco
San Francisco, California
