Which drugs constitute the dissociative class used as anesthesia?

• A. Ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam
• B. Isoflurane and sevoflurane
• C. Propofol and etomidate
• D. Morphine and fentanyl

Answer: (A)

Dissociatives produce a trance-like anesthesia with analgesia and amnesia, while often preserving reflexes and airway control better than many other hypnotics. Ketamine is the classic dissociative anesthetic, and tiletamine behaves similarly. When tiletamine is paired with zolazepam, the combination is Telazol, a widely used dissociative anesthetic in veterinary practice. That makes ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam the correct class.

The other options don’t fit because they are not dissociatives: isoflurane and sevoflurane are inhaled volatile anesthetics; propofol and etomidate are IV hypnotics with different mechanisms (primarily GABAergic); morphine and fentanyl are opioids used for analgesia (and sometimes adjuncts) but not dissociative anesthetics.