Novocaine Block

a method of treatment that consists of the action on elements of the peripheral nervous system of a solution of novocaine, which exerts an anesthetizing and slightly stimulating influence on the nerve cell. It was proposed by A. V. Vishnevskii (1929) and used in treating illnesses caused by disorders of tonus and disturbances of the permeability of capillaries. The therapeutic effect of the novocaine block may be explained by the absorption of novocaine by the membrane of the nerve cell. which leads to stabilization of the molecular structure of the cell and plays an important role in improving the trophic functions of the nervous system, and the anti-inflammatory and antiallergic action of the novocaine block. The following types of novocaine block are used: lumbar (paranephric), cervical, sacral, sheath (on the extremities), and short block of the nerves near the pathological focus. A novocaine block may arrest the development of an inflammatory process, restore the tonus of a number of organs (intestines, uterus, musculature of the extremities, and so on), and reinstate the normal condition of a vessel wall. The lumbar block is used in catarrhal cholecystitis, pancreatitis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, renal colic, pneumonia, meningitis, and burns; cervical novocaine block is used in cases of penetrating wounds of the thorax, especially of open pneumothorax; the retromammary block is used in cases of suppurative inflammations of the mammary gland. The sheath block exerts an antishock effect in traumas of the extremities. It is also used in cases of phlegmon, trophic ulcer, and snakebite. A sacral block is performed in cases of hemorrhoids, rectal fissures, and so on; the short block is used in cases of boils and carbuncles. The intranasal block is indicated in inflammatory diseases of the nasal cavity, mouth, throat, and esophagus and for migraine and the like. Novocaine is injected by syringe and needle exactly along the path of the nerves that innervate the affected areas.