The effect of pH on tricaine methanesulfonate induced anaesthesia of the newt Notophthalmus viridescens

Abstract
The anesthetic tricaine methanesulfonate (TMS), when dissolved in distilled water, yields an acidic solution. To determine if pH affected the anesthetic efficacy of TMS in the newt Notophthalmus viridescens, newts were anesthetized in 0.1% TMS solutions adjusted to pH''s of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 with NaOH. As the pH increased, there was a significant decrease in the time required to induce anesthesia and an increase in the time required to recover from the anesthetic. Adjusting the pH of TMS solutions towards neutrality evidently increases their anesthetic efficacy.

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