ketamine + butorphanol

Ketamine + butorphanol is a combination of two pharmaceutical agents used primarily in veterinary medicine for sedation, anesthesia induction, and analgesia. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that acts as an NMDA receptor antagonist, producing profound analgesia and anesthesia with minimal respiratory depression. Butorphanol is an opioid analgesic with mixed agonist-antagonist activity; it acts as a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptor and a full agonist at the kappa-opioid receptor, providing both analgesic and sedative effects. This combination is commonly used for chemical immobilization of animals (especially large or exotic species) due to its rapid onset, deep sedation, reversible effects, and relatively favorable safety profile compared to other protocols[1][3][7]. The mixture allows for effective short-term immobilization with smooth induction and recovery phases.