Some of the most significant strides in medicine and surgery have been directly attributed to anesthesiology's advances in patient monitoring, improved anesthetic agents and new drug therapy. Research at the clinical and basic science levels has been done almost exclusively by anesthesiologists or scientists with the goal of continually improving patient care and safety.

Research is conducted in each of the subspecialties of pediatric, geriatric, obstetric, critical care, cardiovascular, neurosurgical and ambulatory anesthesia. Other areas of study include blood transfusions and fluid therapy, infection control, difficult airway management, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, complications, new devices and  methods of monitoring, pharmacology, pain therapy and organ transplant.