What is Stage 4 of Anesthesia? A Deep Dive into Medullary Paralysis
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4 min read
While general anesthesia is remarkably safe today, its history includes a classification system where the final stage signifies a life-threatening overdose [1.8.6, 1.4.1]. So, **what is stage 4 of anesthesia?** It is a state of medullary paralysis caused by an excessive anesthetic dose, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular collapse [1.3.1, 1.3.5].