Contemporary practice generally categorizes anesthesia into four primary domains, as noted by UCLA Health :

: Established by the ASA to prevent aspiration. Patients may typically have clear liquids up to 2 hours before surgery and light meals up to 6 hours PMC .

: Anxiolysis, areflexia, autonomic areflexia, analgesia, amnesia, and anesthesia News-Medical.Net .

The following professional bodies and journals offer comprehensive reviews and, in some cases, downloadable supplemental files (DOCX/PDF) regarding anesthetic techniques: