What does procaine mean?
Procaine is a local anesthetic, meaning a medicine that temporarily blocks pain signals in a limited area of the body. It was historically important in dentistry, minor surgery, and some injections, and it also appears as the local anesthetic in procaine penicillin. Procaine generally provides shorter-lasting numbing than many newer anesthetic agents, which is one reason it has been largely replaced in routine clinical practice. The word is most likely to be encountered in medical history, pharmacology, dental references, or the names of older medicines. Although it is related in chemical structure to other local anesthetics, procaine should not be confused with cocaine: procaine was developed and used medically as an anesthetic, whereas cocaine is an addictive stimulant and narcotic with substantially different risks and legal status.
nounA local anesthetic drug, now used less often than newer agents, that temporarily numbs a particular area of the body. It is especially associated with dental procedures and injections.
- A local anesthetic used to numb tissue, especially during dental or minor surgical procedures; it may also occur in certain injectable medicines.
"The dentist used procaine to numb the area before extracting the tooth."
"The doctor administered procaine before performing the minor procedure."
"This formulation of penicillin contains procaine to reduce pain at the injection site."
The plural is rare because procaine is normally used as a name for a substance or drug rather than as a countable noun.
"The laboratory stocks several procaines for comparison with other local anesthetics."
Procaine helped make modern dentistry and minor surgery far less painful, but its action is usually shorter-lived than that of many modern local anesthetics.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does procaine come from?
The name combines the prefix pro-, meaning “before” or “in front of,” with the Greek element -caine, which was used in the names of synthetic local anesthetics. The name reflects the historical development of synthetic anesthetic compounds during the early twentieth century. The element ultimately relates to Greek kainos, meaning “new,” while procaine itself was coined as a chemical name rather than inherited from an Old English or Latin word.
Related word forms
How procaine is actually used
In contemporary medicine, procaine is less common because newer local anesthetics generally have a longer duration of action and are considered more reliable. The name is also associated with procaine penicillin, a form of penicillin that contains procaine.
Easily confused with procaine
Procaine is a medically used local anesthetic, while cocaine is an addictive stimulant and narcotic that is not used as a routine anesthetic.