Ketamine is a general dissociative anaesthetic for human and veterinary use. Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Ketanest®, Ketaset®, and Ketalar®. Pharmacologically it is very similar to other dissociative anesthetics such as tiletamine and phencyclidine (PCP).
Ketamine is a chiral compound, with two distinct enantiomers. Most pharmaceutical ketamine preparations are racemic, however reportedly some brands have (mostly undocumented) differences in enantiomeric proportions.