Minerva anestesiologica
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Inhalation agents represent a basic drug used in modern balanced anesthesia. In the present review, the pharmacokinetics, effectiveness and clinical effects of inhalation agents on different systems are discussed. ⋯ The cardioprotective effect of halogenated agents and the actual role of nitrous oxide and xenon are discussed. The different mechanisms of action of the inhalation agents and the evolution from a unitary theory of inhaled anesthetics to a multiple mechanism concept are presented.