Inhalant Anesthesia: Principles and Agents

Course Details

This lecture has been RACE Approved for 1 CE hour of continuing education credit for veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

Inhalant or volatile anesthetics are the mainstay of maintenance” anesthesia. These inhaled drugs allow our patients a level of surgical unconsciousness that is arousable but appropriately sympathetically depressed & pain free. Scientific principles of gas flow, partial pressures, vaporization, solubility, and MAC (minimum alveolar concentration) are reviewed to teach the basic differences in the modern agents: isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. Common inhalant issues (waste gas exposure, nitrous oxide use, vaporizer mechanism) are also covered.”