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General Anesthetics

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Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Pharmacological Assays

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Abstract

The first agents which could be used as intravenous anesthetics were barbiturates. Barbiturates with a duration of action appropriate to the requirements of surgery became available with the introduction of hexobarbital and thiopental (Volwiler and Tabern 1930; Miller et al. 1936). The studies with barbiturates were extended (Butler and Bush 1942; Christensen and Lee 1973). Intravenous anesthetics from other chemical groups were developed, such as acetamidoeugenol (Estil, Domenjoz 1959), steroid derivatives (Presuren = hydroxydione sodium, Laubach et al. 1955; alfaxolone, CT1341, Child et al. 1971), propanidid (Goidenthai 1971), ketamine (CI-581, Chen et al. 1966; Reich and Silvay 1989), etomidate (Janssen et al. 1975), propofol (ICI 35868, Glen 1980), and midazolam (Pieri 1983; Reilly and Nimmo 1987).

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  1. Covance Research Laboratories, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Mary Jeanne Kallman

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  1. Mary Jeanne Kallman
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Correspondence to Mary Jeanne Kallman .

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  1. Dieburg, Germany

    Franz J. Hock

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Kallman, M.J. (2015). General Anesthetics. In: Hock, F. (eds) Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Pharmacological Assays. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27728-3_34-1

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