It is taken alone, or in combination with complementary agents such as phenytoin, in commercial animal euthanasia injectable solutions. In the Netherlands, it is part of the standard protocol for physician-assisted suicide for self-administration by the patient.It is taken by mouth for physician-assisted death in the United States states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and California (as of January, 2016).The oral dosage of pentobarbital indicated for physician-assisted suicide in Oregon is typically 10 g of liquid.In Switzerland, sodium pentobarbital is administered to the patient intravenously. Once administered, sleep is induced within 30 seconds, and the heart stops beating within 3 minutes. Execution
Pentobarbital has been used or considered as a substitute for other drugs previously used for capital punishment in the United States when those drugs are unavailable. Such use however is illegal under Danish law, and when this was discovered, after public outcry in Danish media, Lundbeck, the owner of the drug, stopped selling it to US states that impose the death penalty. US distributors of the drug are forbidden by the owner to sell it to any customers, such as state authorities, that practice or participate in executions of humans.Texas began using pentobarbital for executing death-row inmates by lethal injection on July 18, 2012.
Pentalogy of Cantrell (or thoraco-abdominal syndrome) is a rare congenital syndrome that causes defects involving the diaphragm, abdominal wall, pericardium, heart and lower sternum. Presentation
There are five characteristic findings in pentalogy of Cantrell:

an abdominal wall defect,
lower sternal defect,
congenital heart malformations,
absence of the diaphragmatic pericardium,
and an anterior diaphragmatic defect.Abdominal wall defects in pentalogy of Cantrell occur above the umbilicus (supraumbilical) and in the midline, and have a wide range of presentations. Diastasis recti, hernias, and omphalocele have all been described in conjunction with the pentalogy.Sternal defects too have a range of presentations, from absence of the xiphoid process to shortened or cleft sternum. If the sternal defect is large enough, the neonate may have ectopia cordis, in which the heart is located outside of the thorax.Many congenital heart malformations have been described in conjunction with pentalogy of Cantrell. The most common is ventricular septal defect, found in 72% of cases. Others include atrial septal defect, cardiac diverticulum, pulmonic stenosis, double outlet right ventricle, tetralogy of Fallot, dextrocardia, and transposition of the great vessels. Causes
Most cases of pentalogy of Cantrell are idiopathic (no known cause). However, some cases have been described with a genetic linkage to a locus at Xq25-q26.1. Epidemiology
Pentalogy of Cantrell occurs in 1/65,000 to 1/200,000 live births. History
It was first characterized in 1958.A 2010 study concluded that the 13th-century Christian saint Rose of Viterbo died of complications of Pentalogy of Cantrell. References


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