alpha-adrenergic blocker
1
4.7
- noun
- /ˈælfə ˌædrəˈnɜrdʒɪk ˈblɑːkər/
- Specialized
- Some patients with high blood pressure may benefit from taking an alpha-adrenergic blocker.
Examples
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The doctor prescribed an alpha-adrenergic blocker to help relieve his symptoms of an enlarged prostate.
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The doctor prescribed an alpha-adrenergic blocker for my high blood pressure.
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Research into new alpha-adrenergic blockers is ongoing to improve treatment options.
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Many patients benefit from alpha-adrenergic blockers to manage their symptoms.
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Doctors often prescribe an alpha-adrenergic blocker to help lower a patient's high blood pressure.
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The patient was relieved to find that the alpha-adrenergic blocker eased his symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
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After the diagnosis, she started taking an alpha-adrenergic blocker as advised by her cardiologist.
Synonyms
1
5.2
A medicine that relaxes muscles in blood vessels and the prostate to lower blood pressure and help pass urine
1
5.5
A drug that relaxes certain muscles to lower blood pressure and ease symptoms of an enlarged prostate
A medicine that relaxes blood vessel and bladder muscles to lower blood pressure and help pass urine
Surface Forms
Morphology
alpha-adrenergic + blocker
The noun phrase is compositionally built: 'blocker' denotes an agent/drug that blocks, and 'alpha-adrenergic' specifies the biological target (alpha-adrenergic receptors). Although this is specialized medical terminology and may be unfamiliar to typical B1 learners, if a learner knows the constituent parts, the overall meaning ('a drug that blocks alpha-adrenergic receptors') is directly derivable.
Etymology
The term alpha-adrenergic blocker shows what the drug does: alpha names a kind of tiny 'lock' on cells, adrenergic means it responds to 'adrenaline' signals, and blocker means the medicine stops those signals. So imagine a key, 'adrenaline', trying to open a lock at the alpha spot but being held back, and that stopping helps muscles relax and 'lower blood pressure'.