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• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 292, Nº. 5, 2005, págs. 102-102
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article answers questions sent in by readers. Local and general anesthetics work by blocking nerve transmission to pain centers in the central nervous system, although the exact mechanisms for general anesthetics are not well understood, despite use of such pharmacological agents for more than 150 years. Local anesthetics, such as Novocain, bind to and inhibit the function of the sodium channel in the nerve cell membrane, a type of ion channel required for the propagation of nerve impulses.