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NRTI

NRTI

7.6
A drug that stops HIV from copying itself by making its new DNA incomplete
  • noun
  • /ˌɛnˌɑrˌtiˈaɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : NRTI

Examples

  • So what is your backbone, your NRTI backbone here in this, in this, I don't hear anything.

  • We have our Nrtis are nucleoside reverse transcriptase and our Nrtis are non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

  • The doctor prescribed an NRTI to help manage the patient's HIV infection.

  • Many patients rely on an NRTI as part of their antiviral treatment regimen.

  • Researchers are studying how effective different NRTI combinations are against HIV replication.

Synonyms

An HIV drug that joins viral DNA and stops the enzyme that copies the virus

is the same term presented as a short abbreviation for everyday usage

Surface Forms

NRTI singular
NRTIs plural

Morphology

NRTI = N + R + T + I

This is a technical initialism (Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor) made from initial letters and is not analyzable into meaningful English morphemes for most learners.

Etymology

NRTI stands for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, a name that tells you how the drug works. Think of it as a 'fake brick' the HIV virus uses when it builds DNA: when the virus uses it, the new DNA stops and cannot grow, so the drug 'inhibits' or stops the virus. That's why NRTIs are used to treat HIV — they stop the virus from making new copies of itself.