Curare (a paralytic) is, or used to be, given as a secondary anesthetic, in order to prevent the patient from moving during the operation.
My brother-in-law, the doctor, told me of cases where curare was administered before the primary anesthetic. The only reason they knew this was because the patient went into cardiac arrest when the surgeon started cutting.
23 posted on 11/15/2006 4:04:03 PM PST by Alouette
(Psalms of the Day: 113-118)