Key Points ▪ The introduction of thiopental into clinical practice in 1934 marked the beginning of modern intravenous (IV) anesthesia. Today, IV anesthetics are used for induction and maintenance of…

Key Points ▪ Two different populations of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors exist at the mammalian neuromuscular junction. In the adult, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the postsynaptic (muscular) membrane is composed…

Key Points ▪ The alveolar anesthetic concentration (F A ) or partial pressure (P alv ) is important because it is the driving force determining anesthetic uptake into blood and…

Key Points ▪ Herbal medication use has increased dramatically in the overall population and particularly in preoperative patients. ▪ Patients might not volunteer information unless they are queried specifically about…

Key Points ▪ Local anesthetics block voltage-gated sodium channels and thereby interrupt initiation and propagation of impulses in axons, but they have a wide variety of other biologic actions, desirable…

Key Points ▪ Perioperative risk is multifactorial and may occur as a result of anesthesia-, surgery-, and/or patient-specific factors. ▪ Anesthesia-related (and surgery-related) risk is typically defined as morbidity and…

Key Points ▪ The gastrointestinal (GI) tract forms a long tube from mouth to anus and its main functions are motility, digestion, absorption, excretion, and circulation. Each component of the…

Key Points ▪ Anesthesia consists of separable and independent components, each of which involves distinct, but possibly overlapping, mechanisms at different sites in the central nervous system. ▪ The potencies…

Key Points ▪ The cardiac cycle is the sequence of electrical and mechanical events during a single heartbeat. ▪ Cardiac output is determined by the heart rate, myocardial contractility, and…