Friday word: Tachyphylaxis
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1word1daytachyphylaxis [tak′ēfəlak′sis]
1 (in pharmacology) a phenomenon in which the repeated administration of some drugs results in a rapidly appearing and marked decrease in effectiveness.
2 also called mithridatism. (in immunology), a rapidly developing immunity to a toxin because of previous exposure, such as from previous injection of small amounts of the toxin (named for Mithridates VI who used the technique to survive an assassination attempt).
Etymology: Gk, tachys, rapid + phylax, guard
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
Further re: meaning #1: this was a new word from my reading this week; it is the same phenomenon that's called "tolerance" with narcotics, when applied to non-narcotic substances, such as sedatives, neuromuscular blocking agents (i.e., paralytics, incl. curare derivatives), etc.
Further re: meaning #1: this was a new word from my reading this week; it is the same phenomenon that's called "tolerance" with narcotics, when applied to non-narcotic substances, such as sedatives, neuromuscular blocking agents (i.e., paralytics, incl. curare derivatives), etc.
