Acetylcholinergic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A descriptor for the physiological mechanisms and responses involving a neurotransmitter that facilitates communication between nerve cells and impacts muscular activity and mental processes
2. Pertaining to the system or effects involving the neurotransmitter that transmits signals across nerve endings
3. Connected with the nerve signal pathways using a specific chemical messenger that influences muscle function and brain activity

Etymology: Acetylcholinergic is a technical coinage built from two parts. The first, "acetylcholine," is the name of the neurotransmitter itself, formed from "acetyl," the chemical group derived from acetic acid, and "choline," a compound first isolated from bile and named from the Greek "chole," meaning bile. The second part, "-ergic," is a suffix from the Greek "ergon," meaning "work" or "action," used in pharmacology and physiology to mean "acting upon" or "operating by means of" a particular substance. So the word literally describes something working through acetylcholine. Acetylcholine was identified as a chemical messenger in the early twentieth century, and the adjective followed as scientists needed a compact way to classify the cells, receptors and drugs that respond to it. Its use is therefore modern and specialized, and it is built entirely from older scientific roots rather than from any ancient vocabulary.