contractility

American

[kon-trak-til-i-tee] / ˌkɒn trækˈtɪl ɪ ti /

noun

the property, as of muscle or other tissue, of being able to contract, or draw itself together, reducing its dimensions.

Improvements in the contractility of the heart can be measured by a number of different methods to determine how much blood the heart pumps with each beat.

Etymology

Origin of contractility

First recorded in 1710–20; contractil(e) ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

contractility

Here, the number of cells with a high cortical contractility decreased during tumor progression.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024

The study showed it is not the overall magnitude of these contractility modes but the interplay between them that determines a cell's potential for escape.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024

Later, foxglove was found to contain digitalis, a drug that increases heart contractility.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2013

The primary factors controlling SV include preload, contractility, and afterload.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Its prominent physical properties are excitability and contractility, which Kühne and others have especially investigated.

From Was Man Created? by Henry A. (Henry Augustus) Mott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023