Pharmacologic Substance
anesthetic
an·es·thet·ic [ an-uh s-thet-ik ]
Subclass of:
Central Nervous System Depressants
Definitions related to anesthetics:
-
A drug or other substance that causes a loss of feeling or awareness. Local anesthetics cause a loss of feeling in one small area of the body. Regional anesthetics cause a loss of feeling in a part of the body, such as an arm or leg. General anesthetics cause a loss of feeling and a complete loss of awareness that feels like a very deep sleep.NCI Dictionary of Cancer TermsU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
-
Agents that are capable of inducing a total or partial loss of sensation, especially tactile sensation and pain; may act to induce general anesthesia, in which an unconscious state is achieved, or may act locally to induce numbness or lack of sensation at a targeted site.CRISP ThesaurusNational Institutes of Health, 2006
-
Agents capable of inducing a total or partial loss of sensation, especially tactile sensation and pain. They may act to induce general ANESTHESIA, in which an unconscious state is achieved, or may act locally to induce numbness or lack of sensation at a targeted site.NLM Medical Subject HeadingsU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
-
(anesthetic agent) A pharmacological agent that acts in a reversible fashion and can be applied either locally or systemically to cause a partial or total loss of sensation and pain or to induce unconsciousness.NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
-
Anesthetic, any agent that produces a local or general loss of sensation, including pain. Anesthetics achieve this effect by acting on the brain or peripheral nervous system to suppress responses to sensory stimulation. The unresponsive state thus induced is known as anesthesia. General anesthesia...Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2020
Return to OpenMD Medical Dictionary
> A
This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.