tubocurarine

[ too-boh-kyoo-rahr-een, -in, tyoo- ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. the principal active alkaloid of curare, C 38 H 44 Cl 2 N 2 O, used as a muscle relaxant, especially as an adjunct to anesthesia.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tubocurarine¹

1895–1900; < German Tubocurarin, equivalent to Tubocurar ( e ) ( tube, -o-, curare ) + -in -in ²

Example Sentences

Moreover, it should be easy to attach the S-reticuline pathway to others than that leading to morphine, to make codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxycodone, all of which are valuable painkillers; sanguinarine and berberine, which are antibiotics; and tubocurarine and papaverine, which are muscle relaxants.

From Economist