[Peridural anesthesia in postoperative pain therapy].

This review gives a summary of historical developments of the technique of epidural anaesthesia as well as a synopsis of current knowledges in this method of regional anaesthesia. Besides of anatomical basics, the technique of epidural anaesthesia and its use in postoperative pain relief including indications, contraindications, advantages and complications are described. Beginning with commonly used and new local anaesthetics, the article further deals with opioids and alpha-2-agonists used for epidural anaesthesia in pain management. Different techniques of epidural drug application such as bolus injection or patient-controlled analgesia are discussed.