Present day trainee anaesthetists could be forgiven if they finished their anaesthetic training believing that caudal anaesthesia in obstetrics is not only unnecessary, but dangerous and a relic of the past. Many anaesthetic texts teach applications and techniques which are little or no advance on the teachings of Hingson and Edwards in 1942 and reflect nothing of the true value and application of this valuable block. This paper presents a critical review of these texts and of the results of the use of the block in a busy obstetric unit.
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