Curare

Curare
A muscle relaxant used in anesthesia (and, in the past, in arrow poisons by South American Indians). Curare competes with acetylcholine, a chemical that carries information between nerve and muscle cells, and blocks transmission of the information.
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An extract of various plants, especially Strychnos toxifera, S. castelnaei, S. crevauxii, and Chondodendron tomentosum, that produces nondepolarizing paralysis of skeletal muscle after intravenous injection by blocking transmission at the myoneuronal junction; used clinically ( e.g., as d-tubocurarine chloride, metocurine iodide) to provide muscle relaxation during surgical operations. Often classified by the vessels with which Amazon and Orinoco Indians stored c.. SYN: arrow poison (1). [S. Am.]
- calabash c. (packed by Indians in hollow gourds), c. from Strychnos sp.; contains yohimbine, indole, and strychnine-type alkaloids.
- pot c. (c. stored in clay pots), c. from Chondodendron sp.
- tube c. (c. stored in bamboo tubes), c. from Chondodendron sp.; contains the alkaloid tubocurarine.

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cu·ra·re also cu·ra·ri k(y)u̇-'rär-ē n a dried aqueous extract esp. of a vine (as Strychnos toxifera of the family Loganiaceae or Chondodendron tomentosum of the family Menispermaceae) that produces muscle relaxation and is used in arrow poisons by So. American Indians compare TUBOCURARINE

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n.
an extract from the bark of South American trees (Strychnos and Chondodendron species) that relaxes and paralyses voluntary muscle. Used for centuries as an arrow poison by South American Indians, curare was formerly employed to control the muscle spasms of tetanus and as a muscle relaxant in surgical operations.

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cu·ra·re (koo-rahґre) [South American Indian Kurari] a term applied to a wide variety of highly toxic extracts from numerous botanical sources, including various species of Strychnos and Chondrodendron; used originally as arrow poisons in South America. The most commonly used active principle of curare is tubocurarine (q.v.), obtained from Chondodendron tomentosum.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Curare — Général No CAS 8063 06 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • curare — [ kyrar ] n. m. • 1758; mot caraïbe k urary « là où il vient, on tombe » ♦ Poison à action paralysante, extrait de diverses plantes du genre strychnos, utilisé par les peuplades de l Amérique du Sud tropicale pour empoisonner leurs flèches, et en …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Curare — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Esta página es acerca de las toxinas naturales. Para la banda musical, vea Curare (banda). Planta de donde se extrae el curare Por Koehler 1887 El curare, (Chondodrendon tomentosum, Menispermaceae, Strychnos… …   Wikipedia Español

  • curare — m. bioquím. Toxina vegetal que se extrae del curare (árbol tropical) que actúa sobre el sistema nervioso bloqueando la transmisión sináptica. Se utiliza en anestesia para obtener una relajación muscular general. Medical Dictionary. 2011. curare …   Diccionario médico

  • curare — or curari [kyo͞o rä′rē, ko͞orä′rē] n. [Port curare, curari or Sp curaré, urarí < native (Tupí) name] 1. a black, resinous substance prepared from the juices of certain South American plants and used by some Indians for poisoning arrows: it… …   English World dictionary

  • CURARE — apud Spartian. in Hadriano Caes. c. 4. Corrupisse cum Traiani libertos, curâsse delicatos, eosdemque saepelîsse opinio multa firmavit: quibusdam est ψιλίζειν, psilothrô curare, uti dixit Lamprid. in Heliograbalo, c. 31. Cataubono est θεραπἐυσαι,… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • curare — [lat. cūrare, der. di cura cura ]. ■ v. tr. 1. a. [attendere con premura e diligenza a qualcuno: sua figlia lo ha curato fino all ultimo ] ▶◀ accudire, assistere, avere cura (di), badare (a), custodire, (ant.) procurare. ◀▶ abbandonare,… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • curare — (n.) 1777, from Port. or Sp. curare, a corruption of the name in the Carib language of the Macusi Indians of Guyana, wurali or wurari, which had a sort of click sound at the beginning, and is said to mean he to whom it comes falls …   Etymology dictionary

  • curare — sustantivo masculino 1. (no contable) Veneno negro y resinoso de origen vegetal con que ciertas tribus amazónicas impregnaban sus flechas: El curare tiene la propiedad de paralizar rápidamente el sistema muscular de las personas y los animales …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • Curare — Cu*ra re Curari Cu*ra ri(k? r? r?), n. [Native name. Cf. {Wourall}.] A black resinoid extract prepared by the South American Indians from the bark of several species of {Strychnos} ({Strychnos toxifera}, etc.). It sometimes has little effect when …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curare — Curare, so v.w. Pfeilgift, s.d …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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