Lest the reader be discouraged, let us state unequivocally and at the very beginning that this is not, nor will it develop into, a treatise on information or decision or communication theory. It is true that on occasion some ideas or concepts will be borrowed from these areas, and it is also true that on some other occasions we might offer examples of what communication theory, or decision theory, are all about. Nevertheless, this will be done for the primary purpose of showing where and how further exploration of these areas of endeavour might lead to further and better understanding of our problems, and possibly lead the way to sounder planning and more workable solutions. The more sophisticated will find a paucity of illustrations and a minimal mathematical treatment of the subject. This has been done for two specific reasons; the first being that additional graphic representation or mathema tical manipulations would not have contributed materially to a better under standing of the subject, at least in the context in which it is being presented.

First multi-year cumulation covers six years: 1965-70.

The question how to induce general anaesthesia without problems has been asked repeatedly by anaesthetists and pharmacologists. P. A. JANSSEN developed etomidate and published this substance in 1971 as "a potent short-acting and relatively atoxic intravenous hypnotic agent in rats". In 1974 after several years of experimental and clinical trial the barbiturate-free hypnotic etomidate (soon marketed as Hypnomidate) was introduced to numerous auditors at the occasion of the IV. European Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Madrid. As the authors extended their essays, the actuality of the present book is given. The conclusion mentions the new solution of etomidate base in 35 % propylene glycol. It is expected that the disadvantageous effects - venous pain during injection and associated involuntary muscle movement- will largely be eliminated by using the new formula of etomidate after premedication of fentanyl. Mlinchen, August 1977 Alfred DOENICKE TABLE OF CONTENTS The Experimental Pharmacology of Etomidate, a New Potent, Short-Acting Intravenous Hypnotic (R. S. RENEMAN and P. A. JANSSEN) •. . . . •• 1 Protein Binding of Etomidate (G. A. MANNES and A. DOENICKE) ••••. . . 6 The Effect of Intra-Arterial Injection of Etomidate and Thiopental on the Skeletal Muscle- and Arterial Wall-Structures (R. S. RENEMAN, F. VERHEYEN, R. KRUGER, W. VAN GERVEN and M. BORGES) . . •. . •• 9 Interaction between Etomidate and the Antihypertensive Agents Propanolol andoC-Methyl-Dopa (R. S. RENEMAN, W. VAN GERVEN and R. KRUGER) ••. •. . . 15 Teratogenicity of Etomidate (A. DOENICKE and M. HAEHL) •. ••. •.

The provision of the best possible anesthetic care to the-greatest number of patients all over the world has always been the main goal of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. In addition to the establishment of Regional Anesthesiology Training Centers and the organization of Regional and World Congresses, the distribution of practical monographs on some important aspects of anesthesiology were considered important for the attainment of this objective. In 1968, on the occasion of the Fourth World Congress of Anesthesiology, held in London, a monograph on "Emergency Resuscitation", compiled by the Committee on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, chaired by Professor HENNING POULSEN, was made available to our membership. Subsequent ly, this excellent monograph was translated into Spanish, Russian, Ger man and French and to this date over 100,000 copies of it have been distributed to anesthesiologists and other interested physicians the world over. When looking for a suitable topic for a second monograph to commem orate the 1972 World Congress of Anesthesiology to be held in Kyoto this September, the subject of Obstetric Analgesia and Anesthesia was the first choice of almost everyone consulted. For reasons that are hard to condone, obstetric analgesia and anesthesia has often been the step child among the anesthetic subspecialties.