Mechanisms of Anesthetic Action in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle

The volatile anesthetics continue to be one of the most mysterious yet commonly used class of drugs in medical practice today. A prominent and troublesome side effect of volatile anesthetics is their ability to alter hemodynamics. This arises from two diverse but interrelated phenomena, depression of cardiac contractility and dilation of the vasculature. These effects of volatile anesthetics on ca...