Definition of thalidomide
: a drug C13H10N2O4 that was formerly used as a sedative and is now used as an immunomodulatory agent especially in the treatment of leprosy and multiple myeloma and that is known to cause malformations of infants born to mothers using it during pregnancy
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of thalidomide from the Web
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Because Congress was in a rush to respond to the thalidomide tragedy in the early 1960s, when the babies of some women who took the morning-sickness drug were left with permanent birth defects.
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Kelsey’s wide-ranging experience in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s would serve her well in the 1960s to recognize the threat of thalidomide.
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But Kelsey’s body of work goes well beyond thalidomide.
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By 1962, reeling from news of birth defects caused by a drug called thalidomide, Congress amended the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, requiring trials to include enhanced safety testing and placebo control groups.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thalidomide.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of thalidomide
phthalic acid + -id- (from imide) + -o- + imide
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of thalidomide
: a sedative, hypnotic, and antiemetic drug C13H10N2O4 that was formerly used chiefly in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s especially to treat morning sickness but was soon withdrawn after being shown to cause serious malformations (as missing or severely shortened arms and legs) in infants born to mothers using it during the first trimester of pregnancy and that is now used as an immunomodulatory agent chiefly in the treatment of cutaneous complications of leprosy and in combination with dexamethasone in the treatment of multiple myeloma
Learn More about thalidomide
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See words that rhyme with thalidomide Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about thalidomide
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