Is the epidural the same as the external epidural vein

It's different. An epidural needle, often called an epidural, is an injection of an infiltrating anesthetic drug into the epidural space at a certain level to numb the spinal nerves at a certain level, so as to numb the areas innervated by these spinal nerves. Intravenous anesthesia refers to intravenous anesthesia. Intravenous anesthesia refers to the anesthetic liquid (different from the above-mentioned infiltrating anesthetics) acting on the nerves of the brain through intravenous injection or infusion, so as to have an anesthetic effect on the body. Intravenous anesthesia can control the depth of anesthesia by the amount of anesthesia dose, and the depth of anesthesia can make the human body lose its response to pain. Light anesthesia can reduce the body's response to pain. The epidural vein you're talking about is usually used in cases where epidural anesthesia alone is difficult to achieve the desired effect, and the combination of non-deep intravenous anesthesia in order to achieve the desired effect.