Question:medium

In a homologous series of any general anesthetic, increasing the chain length increases the lipid solubility, and produce a corresponding increase in anesthetic potency, is proposed by:

Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
  • John Pemberton
  • Meyer - Overton
  • Hubert Humphrey
  • Meyer - Philip
Show Solution

The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks who proposed the link between lipid solubility, chain length, and anesthetic potency within a series of related anesthetic compounds.

Step 2: Key Concept or Approach:
This specific idea has a name in pharmacology history, so the task is to recall which scientists are credited with this particular finding.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
John Pemberton is remembered for inventing Coca-Cola, not for anesthetic research.
Hubert Humphrey was a political figure with no scientific link to this area.
"Meyer - Philip" is not an established pairing in the history of pharmacology.
Hans Meyer and Charles Overton independently observed, in the early 1900s, that within a homologous series of anesthetics, longer carbon chains raised lipid solubility, and that this rise in lipid solubility tracked closely with a rise in anesthetic potency, giving rise to the Meyer-Overton correlation.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Meyer - Overton proposed this relationship.
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