BRAINCAKELidocaine
Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic. It is injected by dentists before fillings, and used in creams and for minor operations, to stop pain in one area of the body while the patient stays conscious.
Lidocaine acts on the axons of neurones rather than at synapses. It blocks voltage-gated sodium ion channels in the neurone membrane.
Normally, when a stimulus reaches threshold, voltage-gated Na+ channels open and Na+ floods in, causing depolarisation. When lidocaine is present:
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Key terms in this lesson
- sodium-potassium pump
- A carrier protein that uses ATP to actively transport three sodium ions out of a neurone for every two potassium ions in.
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All 38 lessons in Mammalian Nervous System · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics