🧠 Nervous System🟢 BasicGeneral Anaesthetics

General Anaesthetics

Drugs that produce a reversible loss of consciousness and sensation for surgery, given as gases to breathe or injected into a vein.

Key points

General anaesthetics cause a reversible loss of consciousness, so that surgery can be carried out without awareness or pain.
They are given either as vapours that are breathed in, such as sevoflurane and the older halothane, or injected into a vein, such as propofol and thiopental; nitrous oxide is a weak agent usually added to others rather than used alone.
Intravenous agents act within seconds and are used to send the patient off to sleep, while inhaled agents are often used to keep them asleep.
Balanced anaesthesia combines several drugs, adding muscle relaxants and pain relievers so that a smaller amount of each is needed.
A rare inherited reaction called malignant hyperthermia can follow some agents, causing a steep rise in temperature and muscle rigidity.

Memory trick

General anaesthetics give reversible unconsciousness; inhaled (sevoflurane, older halothane, weak nitrous oxide) or intravenous (propofol, thiopental); intravenous sends to sleep, inhaled keeps asleep; balanced anaesthesia; beware malignant hyperthermia.

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🧠 Nervous System🟢 BasicGeneral Anaesthetics

General Anaesthetics

Drugs that produce a reversible loss of consciousness and sensation for surgery, given as gases to breathe or injected into a vein.

Key points

General anaesthetics cause a reversible loss of consciousness, so that surgery can be carried out without awareness or pain.
They are given either as vapours that are breathed in, such as sevoflurane and the older halothane, or injected into a vein, such as propofol and thiopental; nitrous oxide is a weak agent usually added to others rather than used alone.
Intravenous agents act within seconds and are used to send the patient off to sleep, while inhaled agents are often used to keep them asleep.
Balanced anaesthesia combines several drugs, adding muscle relaxants and pain relievers so that a smaller amount of each is needed.
A rare inherited reaction called malignant hyperthermia can follow some agents, causing a steep rise in temperature and muscle rigidity.

Memory trick

All of Pharmacology More Nervous System