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ketamine

[ kee-tuh-meen, -min ]
/ ˈki təˌmin, -mɪn /
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noun Pharmacology.
a synthetic nonbarbiturate general anesthetic, C13H16ClNO, used to induce anesthesia, alone or in combination, in surgical or diagnostic procedures of short duration; extensively used in veterinary medicine.
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Origin of ketamine

First recorded in 1965–70; ket- + -amine

Words nearby ketamine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ketamine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ketamine

ketamine
/ (ˈkɛtəmiːn) /

noun
a drug, chemically related to PCP, that is used in medicine as a general anaesthetic, being administered by injection; cyclohexylamine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ketamine

ketamine
[ kētə-mēn′ ]

A general anesthetic given intravenously or intramuscularly in the form of its hydrochloride salt, used especially for minor surgical procedures in which skeletal muscle relaxation is not required.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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