Pharmacologic Substance
nitric oxide
ni·tric ox·ide
Brand Names:
INOmax
Effect:
Pulmonary Arterial Vasodilation
May Treat:
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn
More Information:
Definitions related to nitric oxide:
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A compound produced by the endothelium (the lining of the interior walls of arteries) that helps widen blood vessels and counteract high blood pressure. Also called endothelium-derived relaxing factor.Harvard Dictionary of Health TermsHarvard Medical Publishing, 2011
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A free radical gas produced endogenously by a variety of mammalian cells, synthesized from ARGININE by NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE. Nitric oxide is one of the ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT RELAXING FACTORS released by the vascular endothelium and mediates VASODILATION. It also inhibits platelet aggregation, induces disaggregation of aggregated platelets, and inhibits platelet adhesion to the vascular endothelium. Nitric oxide activates cytosolic GUANYLATE CYCLASE and thus elevates intracellular levels of CYCLIC GMP.NLM Medical Subject HeadingsU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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An unstable free-radical gas which reacts rapidly with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides. Water soluble, NO is produced normally in numerous tissues and is considered to be a mediator of cell-to cell communication; it functions in numerous processes including vasodilation, inflammation, and neurotransmission. (NCI04)NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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NO; originally found as an intercellular messenger molecule in vascular smooth muscle, where it has a relaxant, vasodilatory effect; formed by oxidation of arginine with citrulline as side product; in nervous tissue, may be part of glutamate-calcium-cGMP signal transduction system.CRISP ThesaurusNational Institutes of Health, 2006
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