Cholinergic vs. Anticholinergic
Cholinergicadjective
(biochemistry) Of, pertaining to, activated by, producing or having the same function as acetylcholine.
Cholinergicnoun
(biochemistry) Any drug or substance producing or having the same function as acetylcholine.
Cholinergicadjective
releasing or activated by acetylcholine or a related compound
Cholinergic
Cholinergic agents are compounds which mimic the action of acetylcholine and/or butyrylcholine. In general, the word describes the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium cation.
Anticholinergicadjective
That inhibits the physiological action of acetylcholine at a receptor site
Anticholinergicnoun
(medicine) Any of a class of drugs, typically used to treat various disorders and some forms of poisoning, which inhibit the physiological action of acetylcholine at a receptor site
Anticholinergicnoun
a substance that opposes or blocks the action of acetylcholine
Anticholinergicadjective
inhibiting or blocking the action of acetylcholine at a receptor site;
Anticholinergic
Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agent) are a group of substances that blocks the action of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) at synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system.These agents inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system by selectively blocking the binding of ACh to its receptor in nerve cells. The nerve fibers of the parasympathetic system are responsible for the involuntary movement of smooth muscles present in the gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, lungs, sweat glands, and many other parts of the body.In broad terms, anticholinergics are divided into two categories in accordance with their specific targets in the central and peripheral nervous system and at the neuromuscular junction: antimuscarinic agents, and antinicotinic agents (ganglionic blockers, neuromuscular blockers).The term is typically used to refer to antimuscarinics which competitively inhibit the binding of ACh to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors; such agents do not antagonize the binding at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction, although the term is sometimes used to refer to agents which do so.
