ABSTRACT
Volatile agents have been used in operating rooms for nearly 150 years, with little understanding of how they produce their effects. Each clinically used agent carries with it a low margin of safety and unwanted side effects. Despite a great deal of research, no studies have yielded a molecular picture of the site of action of volatile anesthetics. A genetic approach can identify the components of an anesthetic site of action, because it can connect changes in behavior to changes in molecular structure. For example, recent articles have described the cloning of genes responsible for cystic fibrosis, malignant hyperthermia, and premature aging. These studies used sophisticated techniques of molecular biology in addition to the traditional methods of classical genetics to characterize the molecular basis of these clinical entities. We
will outline the use of molecular genetics, along with basic techniques of classical genetics, to study the molecular nature of the site of action of volatile anesthetics.
