Definition

A type of medication that is a barbiturate, used primarily as a sedative or anesthetic.

Example

The veterinarian administered pentobarbitone to sedate the animal before surgery.

Conversation

Have you ever heard of pentobarbitone?

Yeah, it’s a type of medication, right?

Exactly! I read that it’s used for anesthesia.

That's interesting, I didn't know it had such specific uses.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Pentobarbitone is formed from "penta-" (meaning five) and "barbitone" (derived from "barbituric acid", which comes from "barbituric" — a compound name that includes "uric" referring to urea). The term refers to a barbiturate with five carbon atoms in its structure, used as a sedative and anesthetic.

Memory Tip

Think of 'five' ('penta-') combined with a compound related to 'urea' ('barbituric') to remember that pentobarbitone is a sedative with a specific chemical structure.

Visually Confused Words