38-1108.

General anesthesia, defined.

General anesthesia means a drug-induced loss of consciousness during which (1) a patient is not arousable, even by painful stimulation, (2) the ability to independently maintain ventilatory function is often impaired, (3) a patient often requires assistance in maintaining a patent airway and positive pressure ventilation may be required because of depressed spontaneous ventilation or drug-induced depression of neuromuscular function, and (4) cardiovascular function may be impaired.