The emergency nature of the situation which accompanies the onset of a failing circulation demands a constant vigilance of the anesthesiologist and an always readily available method of supportive treatment. Often the decisions that are necessary at this time are of sufficient importance to affect the welfare of the patient materially.
Such situations may occur during traumatic operative procedures, hemorrhages and so on. The internist also meets such situations in cases of coronary thrombosis, pneumonia and other entities. However, it is not within the province of this paper to discuss these medical conditions.
Because these conditions of altering and failing circulation are being considered primarily for the surgical patient and because the anesthesiologist often is the person responsible for the supportive therapy during this period, he must be cognizant and watchful of the patient's condition.
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