The air passages and the lungs, together termed “airway,” are the most important connection humans have with the environment – and this is an anesthesiologist's domain. Day in and day out, their clinical duties give them an opportunity to experience and manage the full spectrum, from easy to extremely challenging airways, both in elective and emergent settings. Anesthesia administration in the early days was independent of airway devices in the form of open-drop techniques. Today, the use of airway devices in anesthesia is one of the most basic aspects of clinical care, and anesthesia administration cannot be imagined without it.
Early accounts of airway management involved surgical tracheostomies (interventions), which were lifesaving but too invasive. In the late 19th century, use of an oral tube to bypass airway obstruction was first reported, and it was followed by the development of metal tubes to relieve airway obstruction to save children with...
