Abstract
In connection with a comparative study of normal and secondary alcohols the author had occasion to inquire into their comparative narcotic properties. It was noted that when a suitable dose of isopropyl alcohol, a drug which is comparatively cheap, is administered to cats by the stomach tube, a general anesthesia is produced lasting for many hours and indeed in some cases for several days. In order to use this drug as an anesthetic for cats, the animals must first be completely anesthetized with ether, a stomach tube is then passed and a dose of isopropyl alcohol from 5 to 5 1/2 c.c. per kilo weight of the animal is introduced into the stomach together with two or three times its volume of water. The stomach must be empty before the administration of the drug. The brief-lasting stage of ether isopropylol anesthesia is quickly followed by a complete narcosis, produced and maintained by the isopropyl alcohol alone. Indeed it is usually not necessary to take the cats off the table after the administration of the drug by stomach tube. The blood pressure curve obtained with such animals is remarkably high and the circulation is certainly much less depressed than by certain chlorinated hypnotics which have been used as anesthetics for cats. The effect on the respiration in larger doses than above is more depressant but when the proper dose is administered the animals continue to live with very good circulation and satisfactory respiration for many hours.
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