Anaesthetics and Their Cellular Targets

Abstract

Abstract Since the discovery of ether anaesthesia by William Morton in 1846, numerous studies about the effects of anaesthetics have been published and several theories trying to explain this phenomenon have been proposed. Despite being accepted as one of the greatest discoveries in the history of medicine, anaesthesia remains a mystery. One of the most remarkable features of anaesthetics is that they induce anaesthesia in animals as different on an evolutionary basis as humans and nematodes. In 1876, Claude Bernard demonstrated that ether-induced anaesthesia in plants and animals have the same features. He concluded that the sensitivity to anaesthetics represents a basic living feature and general property of life. His view was later confirmed not only in all multicellular organisms but also in unicellular organisms including prokaryotic ones. This chapter analyses the cellular targets of anaesthetics and concludes that lipids of cell membranes, the cytoskeleton, and diverse proteins with hydrophobic pockets represent the primary targets of anaesthetics. Importantly, the reversal of anaesthesia by imposed pressure suggests a fundamentally biophysical nature of anaesthesia. Further, endogenous anaesthetics are induced in all organisms under stressful situations and help them to adapt and survive.