tetrodotoxin

American  

[te-troh-duh-tok-sin] / tɛˌtroʊ dəˈtɒk sɪn /

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a neurotoxin, C 11 H 17 N 3 O 3 , occurring in a species of puffer fish: ingestion of the toxin is usually rapidly fatal due to heart failure or asphyxiation; used experimentally to block impulse conduction potential in excitable cells.

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tetrodotoxin British  

/ ˌtɛtrəʊdəʊˈtɒksɪn /

noun

1. a highly lethal neurotoxin found in certain puffer fish and in newts of the genus Taricha . Formula: C 11 H 17 N 3 O 3

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Etymology

Origin of tetrodotoxin

1910–15; < New Latin Tetrodo ( n ) genus name of the puffer fish ( tetr-, -odont ) + toxin

Example Sentences

In contrast, some species of poisonous newt use tetrodotoxin, which clogs up a pore that's key to conducting electric signals down a nerve.

From National Geographic • Sep. 28, 2017

For example, a toxin called tetrodotoxin blocks voltage-gated ion channels in skeletal muscles, preventing the propagation of the action potentials required for motion and causing paralysis in nearly all vertebrates.

From Scientific American • Aug. 21, 2012

Cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning do not occur every day, but only too often the chopsticks drop from a victim's fingers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Every year a number of Japanese suffer Botanist Davis tetrodotoxin poisoning as a result of eating incorrectly prepared puffer fish, the great delicacy fugu.

From Time Magazine Archive

Its poison, tetrodotoxin, has proved almost impossible to isolate or identify.

From Time Magazine Archive