nitric oxide

nitric oxide

noun

Definition of NITRIC OXIDE

:  a colorless poisonous gas NO formed by oxidation of nitrogen or ammonia that is present in the atmosphere and also in mammals where it is synthesized from arginine and oxygen and acts as a vasodilator and as a mediator of cell-to-cell communication

First Known Use of NITRIC OXIDE

1807

nitric oxide

noun    (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of NITRIC OXIDE

: a poisonous colorless gas NO that occurs as a common air pollutant formed by the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen and that is also formed by the oxidation of arginine in the mammalian body where it acts as a mediator of intracellular and intercellular communication regulating numerous biological processes (as vasodilation and neurotransmission)

nitric oxide

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Colourless, toxic gas (NO), formed from nitrogen and oxygen by the action of electric sparks or high temperatures or, more conveniently, by the action of dilute nitric acid on copper or mercury. First prepared c. 1620 by Jan B. Helmont, it was first studied in 1772 by Joseph Priestley, who called it “nitrous air.” An industrial procedure for the manufacture of hydroxylamine is based on the reaction of nitric oxide with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. The formation of nitric oxide from nitric acid and mercury is applied in a volumetric method of analysis for nitric acid or its salts. The gas is synthesized via enzyme-catalyzed reactions in humans and other animals, where it serves as a signaling molecule. Among its numerous biological roles, it causes dilation of blood vessels and as such is an important regulator of blood pressure. Nitric oxide is one of the components of air pollution generated by internal-combustion engines.