Piridocaine is a piperidyl propanol ester of orthoaminobenzoic acid. The toxicity of this drug resembles that of procaine. It differs from procaine in that the minimum anesthetic dose is smaller, the minimal lethal dose larger, and duration of anesthesia longer. Subarachnoid piridocaine with and without epinephrine or ephedrine offers a simple and dependable means of obtaining any degree or extent of analgesia up to the third thoracic nerves without profound or widespread motor paralysis. The most promising clinical field of usefulness for piridocaine is obstetrics.