Since 1972 electrostimulation anaesthesia (ESA) has been employed in an attempt to reduce the amount of anaesthetic agents needed. In the beginning the Chinese combination of acupuncture points was used; at a later stage Benzer et al. inserted the needles paravertebrally and Abdulla replaced the needles by contact electrodes for ophthalmic operations. At the Department of Anaesthetics, Hamburg, the same course was followed, i.e. the classic acupuncture points were used originally, then the acupuncture points were used originally, then the technique was changed to paravertebral insertion of the needles and now only paravertebrally placed contact electrodes are being employed for inducing ESA for various surgical operations. All three techniques of ESA have proved satisfactory; but ESA with contact electrodes is considered the method of choice on account of both practical considerations and success rate.