[The effect of anaesthesia and surgery on immune function. A review (author's transl)].

This paper reviews the literature concerning the question, how the immune functions might be affected by anaesthesia and surgery. General and local anaesthetics inhibit in vitro and in vivo important functions of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and macrophages. However, the postoperative immunosuppression is not attributable to the anaesthesia but rather appears to depend on the tissue trauma itself.