Standard Lemma guide

arterio-contractile

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: ärtî'rĭōkəntrăkʹtīl
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɑːˌtɪəɹɪəʊkənˈtɹæktaɪl/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Undergoing contraction due to stimulation by arterial blood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

Topics: medicine, physiology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From arteri- + -o- + contractile. Coined by English physiologist Marshall Hall in 1832 in the paper “Theory of the inverse Ratio which subsists between Respiration and Irritability in the Animal Kingdom”. Despite the initial uptake of this term, it failed to thrive, and is unattested beyond 1835, a mere three years after its coining.