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Related Concept Videos

Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers01:24

Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers

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Local anesthetics (LAs) block the sodium channels of nerve trunks, sensory nerve endings, and neuromuscular junctions. Although LAs can block all kinds of nerves, the sensitivity of nerve fibers differs according to nerve types and structures. LAs are known to block myelinated fibers faster than unmyelinated ones. Also, they block pain or sensory neurons at low concentrations without affecting the motor neurons involved in muscle contractions. This helps relieve labor pain without affecting the...
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Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia01:29

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Epidural anesthetics are administered in the fat-filled epidural space, the outermost part of the spinal canal. This technique is commonly employed for pain management and anesthesia during lower abdomen and pelvis surgeries or labor and delivery.
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
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Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...
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Stages of General Anesthesia01:22

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Various sedation levels offer significant advantages in facilitating procedural interventions for patients undergoing medical or invasive surgical procedures. These levels span from anxiolysis to general anesthesia, providing a spectrum of sedative effects to cater to specific patient needs. Anxiolysis reduces anxiety and is achieved through minimal sedation, enabling patients to remain awake and responsive while feeling more at ease during the procedure. This level can benefit minor...
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Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview01:24

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

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Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.
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Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview01:20

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Inhalation anesthetics are drugs that induce general anesthesia upon inhalation. They work by increasing the sensitivity of GABAA receptors or inhibiting NMDA receptors, leading to a decrease in central nervous system activity. The depth of anesthesia can be rapidly adjusted by changing the concentration of the inhaled gas. Some common examples of inhalational anesthetics include volatile liquids like isoflurane, desflurane, sevoflurane and gases like xenon and nitrous oxide. Isoflurane, a...
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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
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Sensitivity to anesthesia by pregnanolone appears late in evolution.

A E Oliver1, D W Deamer, M Akeson

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis 95616.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|January 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Steroid anesthetics like pregnanolone induce anesthesia in chordates but not invertebrates, suggesting a specific binding site evolved early in chordate evolution. Ether and alkanols, however, anesthetized all tested aquatic species.

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Area of Science:

  • Comparative physiology
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Steroid anesthetics are known in vertebrates.
  • Their anesthetic effects on simpler organisms remain largely unexplored.
  • Investigating anesthetic mechanisms across diverse species can reveal evolutionary insights.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if steroid anesthetics can induce anesthesia in non-vertebrate aquatic organisms.
  • To compare the anesthetic effects of different compounds across various phyla.
  • To elucidate the evolutionary origins of steroid anesthetic action.

Main Methods:

  • Twenty aquatic species from seven phyla were exposed to clinical concentrations of ether, short-chain alkanols, and pregnanolone.
  • Anesthesia was assessed by observing the loss of righting reflex and escape response.
  • Comparative analysis of responses across different taxa was performed.

Main Results:

  • Ether and short-chain alkanols induced anesthesia in all tested organisms.
  • Pregnanolone, a steroid anesthetic, only affected organisms within the phylum Chordata.
  • Invertebrates, despite possessing GABA receptors, did not respond to pregnanolone.

Conclusions:

  • A specific binding site for steroid anesthetics likely emerged early in chordate evolution, acting on a pre-existing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor.
  • This finding suggests that the anesthetic mechanism of pregnanolone is not primarily mediated by lipid bilayer interactions.
  • The differential response highlights a divergence in anesthetic sensitivity linked to evolutionary history.