VASOCONSTRICTOR

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vasoconstrictor mean? 

• VASOCONSTRICTOR (noun)
  The noun VASOCONSTRICTOR has 1 sense:

1. any agent that causes a narrowing of an opening of a blood vessel: cold or stress or nicotine or epinephrine or norepinephrine or angiotensin or vasopressin or certain drugs; maintains or increases blood pressure

  Familiarity information: VASOCONSTRICTOR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VASOCONSTRICTOR (noun)

Meaning:

Any agent that causes a narrowing of an opening of a blood vessel: cold or stress or nicotine or epinephrine or norepinephrine or angiotensin or vasopressin or certain drugs; maintains or increases blood pressure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

pressor; vasoconstrictive; vasoconstrictor

Hypernyms ("vasoconstrictor" is a kind of...):

agent (an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "vasoconstrictor"):

adrenergic; adrenergic drug (drug that has the effects of epinephrine)

ADH; antidiuretic hormone; Pitressin; vasopressin (hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland (trade name Pitressin) and also by nerve endings in the hypothalamus; affects blood pressure by stimulating capillary muscles and reduces urine flow by affecting reabsorption of water by kidney tubules)

Adrenalin; adrenaline; epinephrin; epinephrine (a catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin); stimulates autonomic nerve action)

noradrenaline; norepinephrine (a catecholamine precursor of epinephrine that is secreted by the adrenal medulla and also released at synapses)

cold; coldness; frigidity; frigidness; low temperature (the absence of heat)

vasopressor (any agent that produces vasoconstriction and a rise in blood pressure (usually understood as increased arterial pressure))

naphazoline; Privine; Sudafed (vasoconstrictor (trade names Privine and Sudafed) used in nasal sprays to treat symptoms of nasal congestion and in eyedrops to treat eye irritation)

lypressin (an antidiuretic and vasoconstrictor used to treat diabetes insipidus)

angiotensin; angiotonin; Hypertensin (any of several vasoconstrictor substances (trade name Hypertensin) that cause narrowing of blood vessels)

nicotine (an alkaloid poison that occurs in tobacco; used in medicine and as an insecticide)