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Essentials of Pharmacology for Anesthesia, Pain Medicine, and Critical Care pp 195–204Cite as

Neuromuscular Blockers

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Abstract

Muscle relaxants were first used on poisonous darts by South American Indians during hunting, according to accounts found in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. It took several hundred years until their therapeutic potential was realized in the medical setting. Tubocurarine, the first muscle relaxant used clinically, often produced hypotension and tachycardia through histamine release. Today, we have sophisticated neuromuscular blockers (NMBs) that keep the patient paralyzed providing ideal surgical conditions, facilitating intubation and artificial ventilation, with minimal changes to vital signs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Gabriel Goodwin & Vilma Joseph

Authors
  1. Gabriel Goodwin
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  2. Vilma Joseph
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Goodwin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Alan David Kaye

  2. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Stockton, California, USA

    Adam M. Kaye

  3. Center for Perioperative Management and Medical Informatics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard D. Urman

Chemical Structures

Chemical Structures 12.1

Tubocurarine chloride

Chemical Structures 12.2

Pancuronium

Chemical Structures 12.3

Succinylcholine

Chemical Structures 12.4

Succinylcholine

Chemical Structures 12.5

Rocuronium bromide

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Goodwin, G., Joseph, V. (2015). Neuromuscular Blockers. In: Kaye, A., Kaye, A., Urman, R. (eds) Essentials of Pharmacology for Anesthesia, Pain Medicine, and Critical Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8948-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8948-1_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8947-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8948-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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