General anaesthesia (or general anesthesia) is a state of unconsciousness and loss of protective reflexes resulting from the administration of one or more general anaesthetic agents. A variety of medications may be administered, with the overall aim of ensuring hypnosis, amnesia, analgesia, relaxation of skeletal muscles, and loss of control of reflexes of the autonomic nervous system. The optimal combination of these agents for any given patient and procedure is typically selected by an anaesthesiologist or another provider such as an anaesthesiologist assistant or nurse anaesthetist, in consultation with the patient and the medical or dental practitioner who is performing the operative procedure.