Ketamine

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic for use in human and veterinary medicine. Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Ketanest, Ketaset, and Ketalar. Pharmacologically, ketamine is classified as an NMDA receptor antagonist, and, like other drugs of this class such as tiletamine, memantine, and phencyclidine (PCP), induces a state referred to as "dissociative anesthesia." As with other pharmaceuticals of this type, ketamine is used illicitly as a recreational drug.

Ketamine has a wide range of effects in humans, including analgesia, anesthesia, hallucinations, arterial hypertension, and bronchodilation. It is primarily used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, usually in combination with some sedative drug. Other uses include sedation in intensive care, analgesia (particularly in emergency medicine), and treatment of bronchospasm. It is also a popular anesthetic in veterinary medicine.

Ketamine is a chiral compound. Most pharmaceutical preparations of ketamine are racemic, however reportedly some brands have (mostly undocumented) differences in enantiomeric proportions. The more active enantiomer, S-Ketamine, is also available for medical use under the brand name Ketanest S.