When admitted to the emergency room, Sean was holding his right hand, which had a deep puncture hole in its palm. He explained that he had fallen on a nail while exploring a barn. Sean was given an...

When admitted to the emergency room, Sean was holding his right hand, which had a deep puncture hole in its palm. He explained that he had fallen on a nail while exploring a barn. Sean was given an antitetanus shot to prevent neural complications. Tetanus bacteria fester in deep, dark wounds, but how do their toxins travel in neural tissue?

Local anesthetics block voltage-gated Na⁺
channels. General anesthetics are thought to activate chemically gated Cl⁺
channels, thereby rendering the nervous system quiescent while surgery is performed. What specific process do anesthetics impair, and how does this interfere with nerve impulse transmission?