antimetabolite
- noun
- /ˌæntɪˈmɛtəˌbɒlaɪt/
- Specialized
:
antimetabolito
- The doctor prescribed an antimetabolite to help stop the rapid division of cancer cells in the patient's body.
Examples
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Methotrexate is an antimetabolite antineoplastic agent that inhibits folate metabolism, thus interfering with DNA synthesis.
Academic text (2012) -
Methotrexate is an antimetabolite used to treat certain types of cancer by inhibiting cell growth.
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You could be working up a case of cancer... ...with a truckload of antimetabolites in you.
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Surgeons began to find success with purine antimetabolites and with antilymphocytic globulin, developed by an upstart ex-football player named John Najarian.
Academic text (2001) -
Research indicates that antimetabolites can be effective in targeting the metabolic processes of cancerous cells.
How Inhibitory
Surface Forms
Morphology
antimetabolite = metabolite (opaque) = anti + metabol + ite
Adding anti- to metabolite is regular prefixation, but the biomedical base word is specialized and the resulting meaning is not easily recoverable for an average learner.
Etymology
The word antimetabolite comes from anti- meaning 'against' and metabolite, from metabolism, which is how the body 'changes food into energy' or other chemical parts. So an antimetabolite is a substance that works 'against' those chemical processes in cells, which is why doctors use it to stop fast-growing cancer cells.