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neuromuscular blocking agent

neuromuscular blocking agent

1 5.9
A drug that stops nerve signals to muscles and makes them relax or stop moving
  • noun
  • /ˌnjʊroʊˈmʌskjələr ˈblɑkɪŋ ˈeɪdʒənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : agente bloqueador neuromuscular
  • Before starting the procedure, the anesthesiologist explained how a neuromuscular blocking agent would help prevent movement.

Examples

  • The surgeon administered a neuromuscular blocking agent to ensure the patient's muscles were relaxed during the operation.

  • In contrast, water-soluble drugs, such as neuromuscular blocking agents, have a much more limited volume of distribution, and maintenance doses should be based on ideal body weight to avoid overdosing (Moos et al.).

    Academic text (2006)
  • It's a neuromuscular blocking agent, it's a paralytic, it takes days to wear off.

  • During the emergency, the team relied on a neuromuscular blocking agent to manage the patient's muscle spasms effectively.

Synonyms

muscle relaxant
vsneuromuscular blocking agent
  • Specialized
5 3.7

A drug that makes muscles less tight to reduce pain or spasms

interferes with nerve to muscle signals and can cause paralysis

How Blocking

neuromuscular blocking agent
  • Specialized
1 5.9
anticholinergic
  • Specialized
1 9.5
blocking agent
  • Specialized
1 5.8
neutral
  • Specialized
4 5.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

neuromuscular + blocking + agent

The phrase is fully compositional: 'neuromuscular' (relating to nerves and muscles) + 'blocking' (obstructing) + 'agent' (a substance that causes an effect) yields the meaning 'a substance that blocks nerve–muscle transmission'. Although technical, the meaning follows standard English compound/nominalisation patterns and is inferable from the constituents, so learners who know the parts can understand it.

Etymology

Neuromuscular blocking agent is a medical name that tells the story: it 'blocks' signals from the body's nerves to its muscles, like cutting the wires that tell a machine to move. That's why it means a drug that makes muscles relax or stop moving, often used during surgery.