+Advantages of Local Anesthesia.+ In minor or trivial affairs the elimination of pain is not to be considered lightly, for every patient, even the strongest, will appreciate anything which will expedite a cure and at the same time will relieve him of suffering. Rather than lose time from their work or suffer the nausea and dangers of general anesthesia, these patients often bear for years conditions which could easily be cured by operations under local anesthesia. In this class one must first think of hemorrhoids; of cysts; of fatty tumors; of foreign bodies in the hands and feet; of verruca and of ingrown nails. These conditions would be promptly relieved were the element of pain in surgical interference not to enter as a factor. With a perfect technic, local anesthesia can also be employed with entire satisfaction for certain major operations, where the subject is suitable. Thus, herniotomies are performed with entire success, especially those cases complicated by strangulation in which the dangers arising from fecal vomiting and inspiration pneumonia, are greatly decreased by omitting the general anesthesia. In many of the more severe conditions not to be classified as minor surgery, the surgeon may consider the comfort of the patient and his own convenience and employ local in preference to general anesthesia, even tho the patients may be of the most robust type. In this group may be mentioned benign tumors at any visible part of the body, hernias, many scrotal and anal diseases and some conditions peculiar to the extremities, such as varicose veins. These conditions lend themselves kindly to local insensitization. In certain emergencies where an operation must be performed immediately, such as tracheotomy, thoracentesis and strangulated hernia, local insensibility is imperative. In these operations local anesthesia is also more desirable because of the ill effects of vomiting, which are thus eliminated. Weakness of the patient enters also as a demand for the exhibition of a local anesthesia in such operations as resection of a rib for empyema, in which instance the action of the heart or lungs is embarrassed. Other operations performed under local anesthesia for the same reason (weakness of the patient) are the exploratory operation for a probable inoperable cancer and the palliative operations such as gastrostomy, enterostomy and colostomy. +SOME VALID OBJECTIONS TO THE USE OF LOCAL ANESTHESIA+