noradrenaline Med.
(nɔːræˈdrɛnəlɪn, -æˈdriːnəlɪn)
Also -in.
[f. nor- 1 a + adrenaline.]
An amine, (HO)2C6H3·CHOH·CH2NH2, related to adrenaline, having a hydrogen atom in place of the methyl group; 1-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-aminoethanol; spec. the lævorotatory isomer, which is the transmitter substance of sympathetic nerves and at some synapses in the central nervous system, is also synthesized in the adrenal medulla, and whose acid tartrate is used, usu. by intravenal infusion, as a vasoconstrictor for raising blood pressure.
| 1932 Arch. Internat. de Pharmacodynamie et de Thérapie XLI. 366 This compound.. is referred to occasionally as nor-adrenaline. 1948 Science 6 Aug. 135/2 The facts..point to the existence of two highly active sympatho⁓mimetic substances: nor-adrenaline and adrenaline. 1962 A. Huxley Island xiii. 206 The power generated by fear or envy or too much noradrenalin. 1965 J. Pollitt Depression & its Treatment iv. 53 Monoamines are neuro⁓hormones.., and two substances of this group playing particularly important roles in mood regulation are serotonin and noradrenalin. 1968 [see drip n. 2 b]. 1971 J. Z. Young Introd. Study Man xliii. 629 Carnivorous animals are said to secrete large amounts of noradrenalin, which makes them aggressive. 1973 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 30 June 12/1 Both humans and rats secrete a large amount of noradrenaline when they shiver. |
Hence noradreˈnergic a. [after adrenergic, cholinergic adjs.], (of a nerve-cell) stimulated by or liberating noradrenaline; noradreˈnergically adv.
| 1963 Arch. Internat. de Pharmacodynamie et de Thérapie CXLII. 257 The hindleg vasoconstriction, spleen contraction and cardioacceleration, which occur in response to a threshold stimulation of the corresponding post-ganglionic noradrenergic nerve supply, are not sensitized by intravenous infusion of noradrenaline. 1973 Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. Pharmakol. CCLXXIX. 53 An α-receptor-mediated feed-back control of noradrenaline release, previously demonstrated in postganglionic sympathetic nerves, also operates in central noradrenergic neurones. 1975 Nature 21 Aug. 659/2 Peripheral, noradrenergically innervated tissue. |