Anesthesia

Anesthesia (American English), also anaesthesia (British English), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. This allows patients to undergo surgery and other procedures without the distress and pain they would otherwise experience.

Anaesthetic agents

Local anaesthetics

The first effective local anaesthetic was cocaine. Isolated in 1859 it was first used by Karl Koller in ophthalmic surgery in 1884. Prior to that doctors had used a salt and ice mix for the numbing effects of cold - which could only have limited application. Similar numbing was also induced by a spray of ether or ethyl chloride. Cocaine soon produced a number of derivatives and safer replacements, including procaine (1905), Eucaine (1900), Stovaine (1904), and lidocaine (1943).

Related Topics:
Cocaine - 1859 - Karl Koller - 1884 - 1905 - 1900 - 1904 - 1943

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Local anaesthetics are agents which prevent transmission of nerve impulses without causing unconciousness. They act by binding to fast Sodium channels from within (in an open state)

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Classification: Local anaesthetics can be either ester or amide based.

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