Drugs and Poisons in Humans - A Handbook of Practical Analysis (Part 40)

Introduction: Local anaesthetics reversibly block neural transmission in local tissues. The drugs are bound with specific receptors located inside the sodium channels of cell membranes, and thus block the permeability of sodium ions; this is the mechanism of anaesthetic action of these drugs. As the history of local anaesthetics, Von Anrep discovered the local anaesthetic action of an alkaloid cocaine being contained in the leaves of Erythroxylon coca. Then, Karl Koller used cocaine as a local anaesthetic in ophthalmological surgery. Since the middle of 1980s, an explosive abuse of cocaine appeared, because of its strong addictive effects on the central...