Puudutusjoone

Puudutusjoone is a term used in Finnish medical practice to describe the boundary of local anesthesia produced by a local anesthetic injection. The word combines puudutus (anesthesia) and joone (line or boundary). In clinical use, it denotes the geographic extent of numbness in the tissues around the treated area, especially in dentistry and minor surgical procedures. The line is not a fixed anatomical structure but an area determined by the injection site, choice of anesthetic, dose, diffusion, patient anatomy, and the presence of inflammation.

In practice, practitioners assess the extent of anesthesia by the patient’s response to stimuli (for example pinprick, brush, or touch), and procedures aim to create a predictable line of numbness corresponding to the anticipated surgical field. Common examples include the distribution after an inferior alveolar nerve block, which typically renders the lower lip, chin, and mandibular teeth numb on one side, or a maxillary nerve block, which can numb the midface. Infiltration anesthesia may produce a more localized puudutusjoone near the planned incision, whereas nerve blocks produce broader lines.

Understanding the puudutusjoone is important for planning incisions, suturing, and avoiding patient discomfort during procedures. Safety considerations include monitoring for overdose or intravascular injection and ensuring that the anesthesia is sufficient but not excessive. See also: local anesthesia, nerve block, dental anesthesia.