(Pentothal) Ultrashort-acting barbiturate and most widely used intravenous preanaesthetic (see ANAESTHETICS) for inducing a hypnotic state in humans and experimental animals. See also: pentobarbital; phenobarbital; sodium amobarbital CHARLES...

The fictional truth drug Hyoscine-pentothal does not describe real pentothal accurately. Sodium thiopental, better known as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or trapanal, is a rapid-onset short-acting...

Two death row inmates on asked the Florida Supreme Court to rehear their challenge to the state's lethal injection procedure.The justices last week unanimously rejected arguments that the procedure is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. That cleared the way for the Nov. 15 execution of...

A Kentucky death-row prisoner claims that giving a condemned inmate a sedative on the day of execution interferes with the drug cocktail used in lethal injections.The lawsuit by Gregory L. Wilson, 51, is a new challenge to Kentucky's execution method after the U.S. Supreme Court...

An overview of the chemical Sodium Thiopental, also known as Pentothal. Used during World War II both as treatment for soldiers with amputated limbs and as a truth serum, this chemical is used today in anesthesia, surgery, and as a means through which to carry out the death penalty against criminals.