Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A prostaglandin produced in the walls of blood vessels that acts as a vasodilator and inhibits platelet aggregation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun organic chemistry A prostaglandin produced in the walls of blood vessels; it acts as a vasodilator and inhibits the aggregation of platelets

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[prosta(te) + cycl(ic) + –in.]

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Examples

  • Perhaps in the pile of documents lies the answer to the continuing mystery of why just before marketing Vioxx, Merck removed a section from its Merck Manual about prostacyclin that arguably would have made Vioxx appear more risky.

    The Legal Underground: 2007

  • Perhaps in the pile of documents lies the answer to the continuing mystery of why just before marketing Vioxx, Merck removed a section from its Merck Manual about prostacyclin that arguably would have made Vioxx appear more risky.

    The Legal Underground: 2007

  • It's little technical, but basically gives good reasons for why basically all women and men should take some form of fish oil: * An increased prostacyclin/thromboxane ratio induced by omega-3 FA can facilitate pregnancy in women with infertility problems by increasing uterine blood flow.

    Archive 2006-07-01 GreenFertility 2006

  • It's little technical, but basically gives good reasons for why basically all women and men should take some form of fish oil: * An increased prostacyclin/thromboxane ratio induced by omega-3 FA can facilitate pregnancy in women with infertility problems by increasing uterine blood flow.

    Fish Oil & Fertility GreenFertility 2006

  • It binds harmful substances in the blood, stimulates endothelial cell movement, decreases multiple clotting functions, protects red blood cells, stimulates the synthesis of prostacyclin an important substance involved in arterial relaxation, and increases the half life in the circulation of this prostacyclin.

    Michael R. Eades, M.D.: The Dean Ornish HDL-ain't-nothin-but-a-garbage-truck rag 2006

  • "The dilatory effect of chocolate under resting conditions can be attributed to improved nitric oxide bioavailability, prostacyclin increase, direct effect of chocolate in smooth muscle cells, or activation of central mechanisms," they write.

    grouse Diary Entry grouse 2005

  • It was in this department that prostacyclin was discovered and its pharmacology developed.

    John R. Vane - Autobiography 1983

  • The metabolites of the endoperoxides (the stable prostaglandins, the thromboxanes and prostacyclin) haye been called defense hormones.

    Physiology or Medicine 1982 - Press Release 1982

  • John Vane has discovered prostacyclin and has carried out detailed analyses of its biological effects and function.

    Physiology or Medicine 1982 - Press Release 1982

  • In contrast to the prostaglandins as well as thromboxanes and prostacyclin the leukotrienes do primarily not act as defense hormones.

    Physiology or Medicine 1982 - Press Release 1982

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