The application of local anesthesia in the field of general surgery, where it is beneficial for patients, has so far only been possible for those who have studied a significant number of relevant works and have learned the limits of the procedure through practice and experience. It is therefore time to summarize our current knowledge of local anesthesia. I have been working towards this purpose for years. The results of my investigations into the scientific foundations of local anesthesia, published in a number of works, form part of the content of this book, having been both extensively supplemented and expanded on one side, and stripped of the irrelevant and condensed on the other. I have made every effort to develop the various methods of local anesthesia as thoroughly as possible.