Hadzic's Regional Anesthesia > Part IV. New and Emerging Concepts in Peripheral Nerve Blocks: Equipment and Practice > Chapter 46. Multistimulation Techniques for Peripheral Nerve Blocks Andrea Casati, MD, Marta Putzu, MD

Multistimulation Techniques for Peripheral Nerve Blocks: Introduction

"Contrary to common, oversimplified representations by medical illustrators, the arrangement of peripheral nerves and plexuses is quite complex. Various tissue compartments contain connective tissue and fat; terminal branches of plexuses and nerves divide and separate frequently, and the different branches may run at some distance from one another. Accordingly, once injected at a particular site, the local anesthetic molecules have to diffuse through several barriers before reaching the nerves, the first barrier being the distance between the injection site and each branch...."