(bēr)

Ger. surgeon, 1861-1949.

Bier block

Regional anesthesia induced by the injection of a local anesthetic into a vein. It is typically used for surgeries on a limb (such as to repair a distal fracture) after placement of a tourniquet on the limb to hold the anesthetic in place.

PATIENT CARE
The limb is exsanguinated before the injection of the anesthetic either by milking blood from its distal end to the tourniquet and placing an Esmarch bandage to keep the blood from flowing back into it or by elevating it above the heart. The tourniquet (such as a blood pressure cuff) is then inflated, and the anesthetic is injected distally.

Bier hyperemia

Passive hyperemia produced by application of an elastic bandage and by suction.
SYN: SEE: constriction hyperemia