**7.6.1 Paravertebral anesthesia**

Paravertebral anesthesia refers to the perineural injection of local anesthesia about the spinal nerves as they emerge from the vertebral canal through the intervertebral foraminae.

The technique may theoretically be carried out in any species, and at any level of the spinal cord but in practice, its main use is to provide anesthesia of the lumbar region in ruminants.

Its advantage is that it provides analgesia and muscle relaxation of the whole area covered by the segmental nerves blocked.

Several different methods of achieving paravertebral anesthesia have been described.

All methods approaching from the dorsal surface are equally effective.

The method described whereby the needle is inserted ventral to the transverse processes of the spine has the disadvantage that the dorsal branches of the segmental nerves are not blocked, thus some skin sensitivity remains.

Paravertebral anesthesia is easy to carry out, and almost always effective, except in the very large beef breeds where it may be very difficult to locate the necessary landmarks.
