hyaluronidase

American  

[hahy-uh-loo-ron-i-deys, -deyz] / ˌhaɪ ə lʊˈrɒn ɪˌdeɪs, -ˌdeɪz /

noun

1. Biochemistry. a mucolytic enzyme found in the testes, in snake venom, and in hemolytic streptococci and certain other bacteria, that decreases the viscosity of the intercellular matrix by breaking down hyaluronic acid.

2. Pharmacology. a commercial form of this substance, used chiefly to promote the diffusion of intradermally injected drugs.

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hyaluronidase British  

/ -ˌdeɪz, ˌhaɪəlʊˈrɒnɪˌdeɪs /

noun

1. an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid, thus decreasing the viscosity of the medium containing the acid

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Etymology

Origin of hyaluronidase

1935–40; hyaluron(ic acid) ( def. ) + -id- (by analogy with amidase, peptidase, etc.) + -ase

Example Sentences

Rather than flooding the area with a drug called hyaluronidase to dissolve the filler, clinicians can do guided injections that use less hyaluronidase and provide better treatment results, she says.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

It was a hard job, because hyaluronidase is an elusive substance that has never been isolated in pure form.

From Time Magazine Archive

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the injection of enormous amounts of hyaluronidase into cancer-bearing animals, or even into the cancerous tumor itself, has no effect on the cancerous process whatsoever .

From Time Magazine Archive

In the endless search for a criminal substance which can be proved guilty of causing the explosive growth of cancer cells, suspicion has settled on an enzyme, hyaluronidase, already known to be a "spreading factor."

From Time Magazine Archive

Actually, say physiologists, there is no proof that hyaluronidase is responsible for penetration of the ovum.

From Time Magazine Archive