vasopressin

noun

va·so·pres·sin | \ ˌvā-zō-ˈpre-sᵊn

Definition of vasopressin

: a polypeptide hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland or obtained synthetically that increases blood pressure and decreases urine flow

— called also antidiuretic hormone

Examples of vasopressin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

UK HealthCare, the University of Kentucky’s hospitals and clinics, last month began buying the blood-pressure drug vasopressin compounded by Athenex. — Melanie Evans, WSJ, "Cheap Custom-Made Versions of High-Cost Drugs Spur Backlash," 9 Sep. 2018 Outside the brain, vasopressin helps regulate blood pressure and fluid retention. — Melissa Healy, latimes.com, "Is vasopressin what's lacking in the brains of those with autism?," 3 May 2018 If vasopressin can be strongly linked to autism, it could be used to diagnose the condition earlier, gauge the effectiveness of treatment, or even become a direct drug target. — Laura Yan, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists May Have Found a Signpost for Autism in Monkeys," 6 May 2018 But the new study found that vasopressin levels, by contrast, remain stable over long periods. — Melissa Healy, latimes.com, "Is vasopressin what's lacking in the brains of those with autism?," 3 May 2018 In his own research with rats and voles, vasopressin promoted some maternal behaviors. — Andrea Marks, Scientific American, "Why Some Mice Seem to Make Bad Parents," 1 July 2017 Those dogs that were more aggressive towards other dogs, however, had more vasopressin. — National Geographic, "Why Are Some Dogs More Aggressive?," 4 Oct. 2017 Block vasopressin and the male voles shifted back to their more peaceable selves. — National Geographic, "Why Are Some Dogs More Aggressive?," 4 Oct. 2017 Further experiments revealed vasopressin as the culprit. — National Geographic, "Why Are Some Dogs More Aggressive?," 4 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vasopressin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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10 Dec 2018

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The first known use of vasopressin was in 1927

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vasopressin

noun

va·so·pres·sin | \ ˌvā-zō-ˈpres-ᵊn

Medical Definition of vasopressin

: a polypeptide hormone that is secreted together with oxytocin by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, is also obtained synthetically, and increases blood pressure and exerts an antidiuretic effect

— called also antidiuretic hormone, beta-hypophamine

— see arginine vasopressin, lysine vasopressin, pitressin