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Anesthetic Drugs
Jonathan Bland
Pathophysiology
Professor Lori McGowan

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Anesthetic drugs are medications that are given to patients in order to produce a
sedative effects, analgesic, muscle paralysis, and amnesia. The variance in medications
also has specific routes to determine the best effects of the medications being given to
the patients. Sometimes medications have to be combined to give patients a more
sedative effect to relieve them of pain. When a patient goes into have surgery there is a
mixture of medications that can be given to the patient to sedate them for the surgery.
Sometimes the patients need to go just to sleep for minor surgeries and other times the
surgery is very complex and the heart needs to be slowed down so much that it pushes
the patient close to deaths door.
The medications being used in early times before modern day surgery was
chloroform. It was placed in a cloth and held over the mouth and nose of the patient.
When the chloroform was wearing off the anesthetists would just reapply. It was a
delicate balance, hold it over the patients mouth to long and it could cause the patient to
stop breathing all together. Later Ether was used in the same manor.
Todays anesthesiologist use versed to sedate the patients before they even are
rolled into the operating room. Once the surgeons are ready for surgery, the
anesthesiologist may apply Propofol, Thiopental this medication induces anesthesia
putting the patient to sleep. They give you desflurane, sevoflurane, or Isoflurane this is
used to keep you asleep during surgery. Succinylcholine, atracurium, cisatracurium,
rocuronium or vercuronium is a paralytic agent which allows the patient to remain still

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during surgery. They also allow the anesthesiologist to breath for you. Fentanyl,
morphine, hydromorphone, or meperidine is used to treat the pain from the surgery.
If the patient is having regional anesthesia, for example, a torn anterior cruciate
ligament repair, the doctors might use epidural/ spinal, peripheral nerve blocks, and IV
regional medications instead of putting the patient to sleep as with general anesthesia.
The medication used in these types of blocks is most often is Lidocaine or Marcaine.
When these blocks are given, depending on the location of the block and the amount
given depends on how long the medication will stay in the space and dull the nerve
endings allowing for the procedure to be done without increased pain to the patient.

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Works Cited
Gould, B. E. (2006). Pathophysiology for the Health Professionals, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: W.B.
Sauders.

Jackson Anesthesia Associates. (2011). Types of Anesthesia. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from Jackson
Anesthesia Associates: http://www.jacksonanesthesia.com/patient-info/types.php