After chloroform, which two anaesthetics were developed?

• A. Opium and morphine
• B. Cocaine and novocaine
• C. Ether and nitrous oxide
• D. Chloroform and ether

Answer: (B)

The idea here is how anesthesia evolved from broad, system-wide sleep-inducing agents to targeted, local numbing. After chloroform opened the door to general anesthesia, the next major advance was the development of local anesthetics that could numb a specific area without putting the whole body under. Cocaine became the first widely used local anesthetic in the late 19th century, showing that surgery could be performed while the patient remained awake but numb in a small area—this was a new approach compared with earlier general anesthesia. Then, at the start of the 20th century, a synthetic local anesthetic, procaine (marketed as Novocaine), was introduced, offering a safer and often more convenient option for local anesthesia.

So, cocaine and novocaine fit the pattern: they mark the move from relying solely on general anesthetics to developing effective local anesthetics that targeted specific regions. The other options describe analgesics or anesthetics that were already in use earlier, not the post-chloroform shift toward local anesthesia.