Fig 1 shows the three most commonly-used drugs for induction of anaesthesia:

1. Propofol
2. Thiopental
3. Etomidate

There is a colour-coded labelling system in use for all drugs in anaesthesia. IV induction agents are identified by yellow labels.

Propofol can be painful on injection and is often used with 1-2 ml of lidocaine added to it. There are therefore two different yellow labels for propofol, one with and one without lidocaine.