In this ar ticle I examine the spatial dimensions of the workplace, the arrangement of material resources, and the development of embodied knowledge. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork of anaesthetic practice, I show how the accomplishment of anaesthetic techniques depends on the precise alignment of practitioners' bodies, tools, and the patient's body. By exploring disruptions to customar y configurations of teamwork I explore the utility of these arrangements. I show how practitioners actively contrive `normal appearances' in order to ensure safe and proficient practice, but I suggest that disruptions function as learning oppor tunities vital to the development of expertise.
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