What does lignocaine mean?
Lignocaine is a medicine that temporarily blocks the transmission of pain signals along nerves. Applied locally, it is used in dental work, minor surgery, wound care, childbirth, and preparations such as creams, patches, and injections. It may also be given intravenously in hospital to treat certain abnormal heart rhythms. The name is standard in Britain and several other English-speaking countries, while American usage generally calls the identical drug lidocaine. Lignocaine belongs to a group of local anaesthetics related in their action and naming to cocaine, although it does not share cocaine's addictive misuse potential. Its medical importance comes from allowing clinicians to perform painful procedures with greatly reduced discomfort. In emergency medicine, its ability to stabilize electrical activity in the heart adds a second important use.
nounLignocaine is a local anaesthetic and sodium-channel-blocking antiarrhythmic medicine. It is widely used to numb tissue during minor surgery, dental procedures, childbirth, and the treatment of pain, and it is also known internationally as lidocaine.
- A local anaesthetic used to reduce pain by preventing nerves from transmitting signals.
- An antiarrhythmic used in emergency medicine to treat certain abnormal heart rhythms.
"The dentist applied lignocaine before removing the tooth."
"A small amount of lignocaine numbed the skin before the injection."
"Intravenous lignocaine was administered in the hospital to treat an irregular heartbeat."
Usually used as a mass noun; the plural is uncommon and may refer to separate formulations or quantities.
"Two forms of lignocaines were tested before the drug was approved."
Lignocaine works by blocking nerve signals, turning pain into a temporary silence.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lignocaine come from?
The name lignocaine combines the element lign- with the medicinal suffix -caine. The element is associated with Latin lignum, meaning “wood,” while -caine was adopted for synthetic medicines used as local anaesthetics. The British generic name and the American name lidocaine refer to the same medicinal substance.
How lignocaine is actually used
Lignocaine is the usual nonproprietary name in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. American medical usage normally calls the same medicine lidocaine. The word is used for both local anaesthetic and antiarrhythmic preparations.
Easily confused with lignocaine
Lignocaine and lidocaine are names for the same drug, with lignocaine used in Britain and several other countries and lidocaine used in the United States.