N2O; a nonflammable, nonexplosive gas that will support combustion; widely used as a rapidly acting, rapidly reversible, nondepressant, and nontoxic inhalation analgesic to supplement other anesthetics and analgesics; its anesthetic potency alone is inadequate to provide surgical anesthesia. SYN: dinitrogen monoxide, nitrogen monoxide.
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nitrous oxide n a colorless gas N2O that when inhaled produces loss of sensibility to pain preceded by exhilaration and sometimes laughter and is used esp. as an anesthetic in dentistry called also laughing gas
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a colourless gas used as an anaesthetic with good analgesic properties. It is administered by inhalation, in conjunction with oxygen, and is used as a vehicle for potent anaesthetic vapours, such as halothane. A mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide provides effective analgesia for some dental procedures and in childbirth; such a state is known as relative analgesia. Nitrous oxide was formerly referred to as laughing gas because of its tendency to excite the patient when used alone.
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[USP] dinitrogen monoxide, N2O, a colorless, odorless gas that is a weak inhalational anesthetic. It is nonflammable but supports combustion and is primarily used in combination with a potent halogenated inhalational anesthetic (halothane, isoflurane, or enflurane) to produce general anesthesia. Use as a sole agent requires high concentrations that may cause hypoxia. Popularly called laughing gas.Medical dictionary. 2011.