How much local anesthetic would 3 cartridges of 3% mepivacaine provide?

To determine how much local anesthetic 3 cartridges of 3% mepivacaine would provide, it's essential to break down the calculations involved.

First, we need to understand what the percentage means. A 3% solution of mepivacaine means that there are 3 grams of mepivacaine per 100 milliliters of solution. When we convert this to milligrams for easier calculation, we find that 3 grams equals 3000 milligrams. Therefore, in 1 milliliter of this solution, there are 30 mg of mepivacaine (since there are 100 mL in 3000 mg of mepivacaine).

Each cartridge of local anesthetic typically contains about 1.8 mL of solution. To find out how much mepivacaine is in one cartridge, we perform the following calculation:

30 mg/mL * 1.8 mL = 54 mg of mepivacaine per cartridge.

Since the question asks for the amount in 3 cartridges, we multiply 54 mg by 3:

54 mg/cartridge * 3 cartridges = 162 mg of mepivacaine.

Thus, the amount