the only depolarizing muscle relaxant in clinical use is
Neuromuscular-blocking drug The prototypical depolarizing blocking drug is succinylcholine (suxamethonium). It is the only such drug used clinically. It has a rapid onset (30 seconds) but very short duration of action (5â€“10 minutes) because of hydrolysis by various cholinesterases (such as butyrylcholinesterase in the blood). Succinylcholine was originally known as diacetylcholine because structurally it is composed of two acetylcholine molecules joined with a methyl group. Decamethonium is sometimes, but rarely, used in clinical practice.
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor The M2 muscarinic receptors are located in the heart, where they act to slow the heart rate down to normal sinus rhythm, by slowing the speed of depolarization. In humans under resting conditions vagal activity dominates over sympathetic activity. Hence inhibition of m2 receptors (e.g. by atropine) will cause a raise in heart rate. They also moderately reduce contractile forces of the atrial cardiac muscle, and reduce conduction velocity of the atrioventricular node (AV node). It also serves to slightly decrease the contractile forces of the ventricular muscle.