The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide. It first renders the person unconscious, and then stops the breathing and heart, in that order. Typically, three drugs are used in lethal injection. Sodium thiopental is used to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart.