nitrous oxide

N₂O; a nonflammable, nonexplosive gas that will support combustion; widely used as a rapidly acting, rapidly reversible, nondepressant, and nontoxic inhalation analgesic to supplement other anesthetics and analgesics; its anesthetic potency alone is inadequate to provide surgical anesthesia. SYN: dinitrogen monoxide, nitrogen monoxide.

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nitrous oxide n a colorless gas N₂O that when inhaled produces loss of sensibility to pain preceded by exhilaration and sometimes laughter and is used esp. as an anesthetic in dentistry called also laughing gas

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a colourless gas used as an anaesthetic with good analgesic properties. It is administered by inhalation, in conjunction with oxygen, and is used as a vehicle for potent anaesthetic vapours, such as halothane. A mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide provides effective analgesia for some dental procedures and in childbirth; such a state is known as relative analgesia. Nitrous oxide was formerly referred to as laughing gas because of its tendency to excite the patient when used alone.

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[USP] dinitrogen monoxide, N₂O, a colorless, odorless gas that is a weak inhalational anesthetic. It is nonflammable but supports combustion and is primarily used in combination with a potent halogenated inhalational anesthetic (halothane, isoflurane, or enflurane) to produce general anesthesia. Use as a sole agent requires high concentrations that may cause hypoxia. Popularly called laughing gas.