The technique of epidural block.

This film shows the benefits of epidural block in certain types of surgery; two examples are given. By means of colour illustrations, the action of the epidural anaesthetic is described in detail. How to find the epidural space is also described; its effect is gravitational, depending on the position of the patient. The method is then shown with the audio sound track providing a running narrative and the advantages are outlined. The second patient is wheeled into the anaesthesic room; she is to have a caesarian section. Unusually, whilst the obstetrician attends to the birth, the mother is asked to listen to a letter to a medical journal describing the procedure, then in an unusual departure from normal, with the aid of live sound, her reaction on seeing her new born baby is captured together with her own description of the experience which was painfree. She is taken back to the ward and given some food and drink.