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The most important clinical properties of local anaesthetic agents are potency, onset, duration of action and relative blockade of sensory and motor fibres. These qualities are related primarily to the physicochemical properties of the various compounds. In general, lipid solubility determines the relative intrinsic potency of the various agents, while protein binding influences the duration of anaesthesia and pKa is correlated with the onset of action. In general, the local anaesthetics for infiltration, peripheral nerve blockade, and extradural anaesthesia can be classified into three groups: agents of low potency and short duration, for example procaine and chloroprocaine; agents of moderate potency and duration, for example lignocaine, mepivacaine and prilocaine; and agents of high potency and long duration, for example amethocaine, bupivacaine and etidocaine. These local anaesthetics also vary in terms of onset: chloroprocaine, lignocaine, mepivacaine, prilocaine and etidocaine have a rapid onset, while procaine, amethocaine and bupivacaine are characterized by a longer latency period.

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