noun
- A synthetic local anesthetic drug, similar to cocaine but less toxic, formerly used in medicine and dentistry.
Usage: medical/pharmaceutical; largely historical; less commonly used in modern practice
Examples
- Eucaine was developed as a safer alternative to cocaine for dental procedures.
- The dentist applied eucaine to numb the patient's gum before the extraction.
- Early 20th-century surgeons preferred eucaine for its reduced systemic toxicity.
- Eucaine hydrochloride was commonly used in ophthalmic surgery.
- Modern anesthetics have largely replaced eucaine in clinical practice.