Ramon C. Henson
Trace Every Anesthetic and Analgesic Decision Back to the Exact Receptor, Channel, or Synapse It Acts UponThis clinical reference builds pain and anesthetic pharmacology from the nociceptor terminal outward, tracing signaling through dorsal horn processing, ascending transmission, and descending modulation, then applies that foundation to general, local, and regional anesthesia and to opioid and non-opioid analgesic pharmacology. Across twenty-six chapters in six parts, it is written for the anesthesiology resident, pain fellow, and advanced practice trainee who can reproduce a pathway diagram but needs to convert it into a bedside decision under time pressure. Every chapter closes the distance between molecular target and prescription, so a receptor subtype becomes a decision rather than a separate fact to recall. Inside, clinicians and trainees gain:• TRPV1 and sodium-channel transduction mechanisms behind primary hyperalgesia, and how topical and systemic agents interrupt them• Dorsal horn wind-up, NMDA receptor phosphorylation, and loss of descending inhibitory tone distinguishing ordinary nociceptive pain from a chronifying pain state• Mu-opioid receptor tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia, explaining why a stable dose stops working and when rotation or ketamine is the correct response• Local anesthetic sodium-channel kinetics and the systemic toxicity cascade, with recognition and resuscitation sequencing for an evolving LAST event• Volatile anesthetic GABA-A and NMDA pharmacodynamics alongside neuromuscular blockade and reversal, grounding depth-of-anesthesia decisions in receptor kinetics• Gabapentinoid, SNRI, and alpha-2 agonist mechanisms showing how each adjuvant earns its place in a multimodal regimen rather than being added by habit• Special-population pharmacology across pediatric, geriatric, and obstetric patients, extended into chronic pain management and interventional overview• The Synaptic Switch System, a chapter-integrated reasoning framework consolidated in a Master Synaptic Switch Index cross-referenced to every chapter of origin For the trainee and clinician who want pain and anesthetic pharmacology taught as a chain of decisions rather than a list of facts, this reference is built to be opened before the decision, not after it.
