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Veterinary Medicine vocabulary · Surgery and Anaesthesia

Premedication

Meaning in veterinary medicine, with examples

/ˌpriːmedɪˈkeɪʃən/nounCommon term

In veterinary medicine, premedication means: Drugs given before a general anaesthetic to calm the animal, reduce pain and lower the amount of anaesthetic needed. Usually shortened to premed.

In Turkish: premedikasyon, anestezi öncesi ilaç uygulaması

How it is used

A typical premed combines a sedative and an opioid. Vets and nurses say the patient has had its premed, or ask Has he been premedded? Induction comes next, followed by intubation.

Example sentences

  1. Give the premedication now, and we'll induce in twenty minutes.

  2. The premedication made her very relaxed, so placing the catheter was easy.

Common collocations

  • give a premedication
  • premedication protocol
  • sedative premedication
  • after premedication
  • anaesthesiaA controlled state, produced with drugs, in which an animal feels no pain and is usually unconscious, so that surgery or other procedures can be done safely.
  • sedationDrugs given to make an animal calm, relaxed and sleepy while it still breathes on its own and can be woken. It is lighter than general anaesthesia.
  • intubateTo pass a tube through the mouth into an animal's windpipe (trachea) to keep the airway open and deliver oxygen and anaesthetic gas.
  • analgesiaRelief of pain with drugs or other methods, or the absence of pain in a conscious animal. A drug that does this is an analgesic.

More terms: Surgery and Anaesthesia

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