The categories of anesthesia include all except:

Moderate sedation is often considered part of a continuum of anesthesia rather than a distinct category like general, local, or regional anesthesia. General anesthesia provides complete unconsciousness and absence of sensation over the entire body, while local anesthesia numbs a specific area without affecting consciousness. Regional anesthesia typically involves blocking sensation in a larger area of the body, such as a limb or the lower body, through nerve blocks.

Moderate sedation, however, refers to a state where a patient is relaxed and may be drowsy but is still able to respond to verbal commands and maintain their own airway. It is used for procedures that require less depth of anesthesia than general anesthesia but involves more than just local numbness. Therefore, it is categorized differently and not considered one of the primary categories of anesthesia. This distinction is vital in medical coding and procedural classification.