premedication

views updated

premedication (pree-med-i-kay-shŏn) n. drugs administered to a patient before an operation. Premedication usually comprises injection of a sedative (e.g. a benzodiazepine) together with a drug, such as hyoscine, to dry up the secretions of the lungs (which might otherwise be inhaled during anaesthesia).

More From encyclopedia.com