intravenous anesthetic
- noun
- /ˌɪntrəˈviːnəs əˈnɛsθɛtɪk/
- Specialized
- The surgeon administered an intravenous anesthetic to ensure the patient felt no pain during the operation.
Examples
-
Modern procedures often use an intravenous anesthetic for rapid induction of unconsciousness.
-
Because of its quick onset, an intravenous anesthetic is preferred for certain outpatient surgeries.
-
The doctor administered an intravenous anesthetic before the surgery.
-
Patients often receive intravenous anesthetics during major procedures.
-
Because of its quick onset, an intravenous anesthetic is preferred for certain outpatient surgeries.
-
The surgeon administered an intravenous anesthetic to ensure the patient felt no pain during the operation.
-
Modern procedures often use an intravenous anesthetic for rapid induction of unconsciousness.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning is directly composed from its parts: 'intravenous' (delivered into the bloodstream/vein) modifies 'anesthetic' (a drug that numbs), so the combined meaning is an anesthetic given into a vein. Although somewhat technical, the semantic composition follows a regular adjectival + noun pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Intravenous anesthetic shows a simple picture: intravenous means 'into a vein' and anesthetic is a medicine that makes you sleep or feel no pain. So it literally means 'a drug given into a vein to make someone unconscious or free from pain', which is why it works quickly.