Blood–gas partition coefficient
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Through Henry's law and Solubility
It is inversely related to induction rate. Induction rate is defined as the speed at which an agent produces anesthesia. The higher the blood:gas partition coefficient, the slower the rate of induction.
Newer anesthetics (such as desflurane) typically have smaller blood–gas partition coefficients than older ones (such as ether); this leads to faster onset of anesthesia and faster emergence from anesthesia once application of the anesthetic is stopped, which may be preferable in certain clinical scenarios. If an anesthetic has a high coefficient, then a large amount of it will have to be taken up in the body's blood before being passed on to the fatty (lipid) tissues of the brain where it can exert its effect.
The potency of an anesthetic is associated with its lipid solubility, which is measured by its oil/gas partition coefficient.
Minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) is defined as the alveolar concentration of anesthetic gas that prevents a movement response in half of subjects undergoing a painful (surgical) stimulus; simplified, it is the exhaled gas concentration required to produce anaesthetic effects – an inverse indicator of anesthetic gas potency.