Anaesthetic medicines: back to basics.

Anaesthesia has developed since the first description of curare. Today there are a myriad of anaesthetic and analgesic medicines available. This article explores the function of medicines in a patient's perioperative journey and describes how pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics play such a large role. The different routes of administration are described and the main categories of anaesthetic medicines outlined. The characteristics and precautions associated with the different classes of medicines are highlighted.