Cholagogues

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances that promote the discharge of bile from the gallbladder ; agents used medically to stimulate bile flow to aid digestion ; compounds that trigger the release and flow of bile within the digestive system
2. Chemicals that facilitate the expulsion of bile from the liver or gallbladder ; pharmacological agents designed to enhance bile secretion ; remedies that increase bile movement to improve digestive health
3. Medications or natural products causing bile to be released into the digestive tract ; elements that induce bile flow to assist lipid digestion ; substances promoting gallbladder contraction and bile output to support digestion

Etymology: "Cholagogues" is simply the plural of "cholagogue", so the question is where the singular comes from. The word is built from two Greek elements: "chole", meaning bile, and "agogos", meaning leading or drawing out, from "agein", to lead. A cholagogue, then, is a substance that leads bile out of its store and into the intestine. The pattern is the same as in related medical terms such as "emmenagogue" (something that draws out menstrual flow) and "sialagogue" (something that increases saliva). Each follows the Greek model of a noun for the body fluid followed by "-agogue", which describes a thing that brings that fluid forth. Because the whole word was assembled from classical parts to name a specific physiological effect, it is a modern technical coinage rather than an ancient Greek term, and no ancient physician would have used it in this form.

Synonyms: choleretics, bile stimulants, digestive aids