diving reflex

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noun Physiology.

a reflex of humans, other mammals, reptiles, and birds, triggered by immersion in cold water, that slows the heart rate and diverts blood flow to the brain, heart, and lungs: serves to conserve oxygen until breathing resumes and to delay potential brain damage.

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Origin of diving reflex

First recorded in 1975–80

Words nearby diving reflex

diving board, diving boat, diving duck, diving goiter, diving petrel, diving reflex, diving suit, divining rod, divinity, divinity school, divinize

How to use diving reflex in a sentence

The diving reflex instinct seems to disappear by six months in most cases.
10 absolutely wild facts about babies|Lauren Leffer|July 2, 2021|Popular-Science
But when a serial sex predator is playing fanboy, the gag reflex kicks in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the course of her remarkable travels Thecla baptizes herself by diving into a pool of “man-eating seals.”
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots|Candida Moss|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We arrived to the din of a party in full swing: a band, multiple kegs of beer, dancing, foosball, and mantle diving.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And by mercilessly diving headfirst into these exploits, “Discord” discovers a universal truth: no human is human without flaws.
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson (And Tolstoy and Dickens)|Samuel Fragoso|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The video became a hit, and it led Boenish to pioneer a new type of diving—BASE.
The High-Flying Secrets of BASE Jumpers|William O’Connor|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rosemary, shy but happy, began giving out the toys, diving with both hands at once into the baskets which the fairy father held.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Alila has still another way of fishing which is not as hard work as diving, though, after all, it is not much fun.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
Even if I were to be shot, the reflex action of my fingers would pull the trigger of this revolver and McGinty will die.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The reflex excitability is lowered and the sensibility diminished.
A Statistical Inquiry Into the Nature and Treatment of Epilepsy|Alexander Hughes Bennett
But already the border men were turning out and diving behind logs and rocks even while the sleep still blurred their eyes.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter

Medical definitions for diving reflex

diving reflex

A reflexive response to diving in many aquatic mammals and birds, characterized by physiological changes that decrease oxygen consumption, such as slowed heart rate and decreased blood flow to the abdominal organs and muscles, until breathing resumes. Though less pronounced, the reflex also occurs in humans, upon submersion in water.