English dictionary of medical terms (08)

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No:140 - antiexudative: counteracting a process of exudation.
No:141 - antifibrinolytic: inhibiting fibrinolysis.
No:142 - antifungal: destructive to fungi, or suppressing their reproduction or growth; effective against fungal infections.
No:143 - antigen: (antibody + Gr. gennan to produce) any substance which is capable, under appropriate conditions, of inducing a specific immune response and of reacting with the products of that response, that is, with specific antibody or specifically sensitized T-lymphocytes, or both. Antigens may be soluble substances, such as toxins and foreign proteins, or particulate, such as bacteria and tissue cells; however, only the portion of the protein or polysaccharide molecule known as the antigenic determinant (q.v.) combines with antibody or a specific receptor on a lymphocyte. Abbreviated Ag.
No:144 - antihistamine: a drug that counteracts the action of histamine. The antihistamines are of two types. The conventional ones, as those used in allergies, block the H1 histamine receptors, whereas the others block the H2 receptors. Called also antihistaminic.
No:145 - antihypertensive: an agent that reduces high blood pressure.
No:146 - anti-infective: an agent that so acts.
No:147 - anti-inflammatory: counteracting or suppressing inflammation.
No:148 - antimicrobial: killing microorganisms, or suppressing their multiplication or growth.
No:149 - antimitotic: inhibiting or preventing mitosis.
No:150 - antimycotic: suppressing the growth of fungi.
No:151 - antineoplastic: inhibiting or preventing the development of neoplasms, checking the maturation and proliferation of malignant cells.
No:152 - antioestrogenic: counteracting or suppressing oestrogenic activity
No:153 - antioxidant: one of many widely used synthetic or natural substances added to a product to prevent or delay its deterioration by action of oxygen in the air. Rubber, paints, vegetable oils, and prepared foods commonly contain antioxidants.
No:154 - antiphlogistic: an agent that counteracts inflammation and fever.
No:155 - antiproliferative: counteracting a process of proliferation.
No:156 - antipruritic: relieving or preventing itching.
No:157 - antipsychotic: effective in the treatment of psychosis. Antipsychotic drugs (called also neuroleptic drugs and major tranquilizers) are a chemically diverse (including phenothiazines, thioxanthenes, butyrophenones, dibenzoxazepines, dibenzodiazepines, and diphenylbutylpiperidines) but pharmacologically similar class of drugs used to treat schizophrenic, paranoid, schizoaffective, and other psychotic disorders; acute delirium and dementia, and manic episodes (during induction of lithium therapy); to control the movement disorders associated with Huntington's chorea, Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, and ballismus; and to treat intractable hiccups and severe nausea and vomiting. Antipsychotic agents bind to dopamine, histamine, muscarinic cholinergic, a-adrenergic, and serotonin receptors. Blockade of dopaminergic transmission in various areas is thought to be responsible for their major effects : antipsychotic action by blockade in the mesolimbic and mesocortical areas; extrapyramidal side effects (dystonia, akathisia, parkinsonism, and tardive dyskinesia) by blockade in the basal ganglia; and antiemetic effects by blockade in the chemoreceptor trigger zone of the medulla. Sedation and autonomic side effects (orthostatic hypotension, blurred vision, dry mouth, nasal congestion and constipation) are caused by blockade of histamine, cholinergic, and adrenergic receptors.
No:158 - antipyretic: (anti + Gr. pyretos fever) an agent that relieves or reduces fever. Called also antifebrile, antithermic and febrifuge.
No:159 - antiseptic: a substance that inhibits the growth and development of microorganisms without necessarily killing them. Cf. disinfectant and germicide.

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