A relative analgesia machine is used by

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

s to induce inhalation

sedation Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure. Examples of drugs which can be used for sedation include isoflurane, diethyl ether, ...

in their patients. It delivers a mixture of

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...

("laughing gas") and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

. A relative analgesia machine is simpler than an

anaesthetic machine An anaesthetic machine (British English) or anesthesia machine (American English) is a medical device used to generate and mix a fresh gas flow of medical gases and inhalational anaesthetic agents for the purpose of inducing and maintaining an ...

, as it does not feature the additional

medical ventilator A ventilator is a piece of health technology, medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insuffici ...

and

anaesthetic vaporiser An anesthetic vaporizer (American English) or anaesthetic vaporiser (British English) is a device generally attached to an anesthetic machine which delivers a given concentration of a volatile anesthetic agent. It works by controlling the vapo ...

, which are only needed for administration of

general anesthetic General anaesthetics (or anesthetics, see spelling differences) are often defined as compounds that induce a loss of consciousness in humans or loss of righting reflex in animals. Clinical definitions are also extended to include an induced coma ...

s. Instead the relative analgesia machine is designed for the light form of

anaesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), am ...

with nitrous oxide, where the patient is less sensitive to pain but remains fully conscious.

References

{{dosage forms, state=expanded Dentistry Anesthetic equipment Drug delivery devices Dosage forms