| neuromuscular blocking agent | A group of drugs that prevent motor nerve endings from exciting skeletal muscle. They act either by competing for the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, (like D-tubocurarine, mivacurium and pancuronium), or by first stimulating the postjunctional muscle membrane and subsequently desensitizing the muscle endplates to the acetylcholine (like succinylcholine or decamethonium); used in surgery to produce paralysis and facilitate manipulation of muscles. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| neuromuscular blocking agents | Drugs that interrupt transmission of nerve impulses at the skeletal neuromuscular junction. They can be of two types, competitive, stabilizing blockers (neuromuscular nondepolarising agents) or noncompetitive, depolarising agents (neuromuscular depolarising agents). Both prevent acetylcholine from triggering the muscle contraction and they are used as anaesthesia adjuvants, as relaxants during electroshock, in convulsive states, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| nondepolarising neuromuscular blocking agent | A compound that paralyzes skeletal muscle primarily by inhibiting transmission of nerve impulses at the neuromuscular junction rather than by affecting the membrane potention of motor endplate or muscle fibres. (05 Mar 2000) |