An anesthetic or anaesthetic is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two broad classes: general anesthetics, which result in a reversible loss of consciousness, and local anesthetics, which cause a reversible loss of sensation for a limited region of the body without necessarily affecting consciousness.
Leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylum novogranatense var. Novogranatense), from which cocaine, a naturally occurring local anesthetic, is derived.
Bottles of sevoflurane, isoflurane, enflurane and desflurane, the most common fluorinated ether (flurane) inhalation anesthetics. Fluranes are color-coded – sevoflurane is marked yellow, isoflurane purple, enflurane orange and desflurane blue. The notches visible below the bottle caps are unique to each agent, ensuring that a vaporizer can only be filled with the correct agent.
A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of all sensation in a specific body part without loss of consciousness, providing local anesthesia, as opposed to a general anesthetic, which eliminates all sensation in the entire body and causes unconsciousness. Local anesthetics are most commonly used to eliminate pain during or after surgery. When it is used on specific nerve pathways, paralysis also can be induced.
This LA system is designed to prevent needlestick injury. A cartridge of LA fits into the disposable needle, which can be locked when not in use and can be separated from the handle.