A neurotransmitter that is a derivative of choline

Usage examples of acetylcholine.

As a result, those nerve fibers which secrete acetylcholine are referred to as cholinergic nerves and those which secrete norepinephrine are adrenergic nerves.

The acetylcholine liberated at the axon endings of one nerve will affect the dendrites, or even the cell body itself, across the synapse and initiate a new nerve impulse there.

It is this acetylcholine which alters the working of the sodium pump so that depolarization takes place and the nerve impulse is initiated.

It is easy to visualize the acetylcholine as coating the membrane and altering its properties.

This is the picture some people draw of hormone action in general, and for this reason acetylcholine is sometimes considered an example of a neurohormone that is, a hormone acting on the nerves.

Instead, acetylcholine is secreted at the nerve-cell membrane and acts upon the spot.

The acetylcholine formed by the nerve cannot be allowed to remain in being for long, because there would be no repolarization while it is present.

Both formation and breakup of acetylcholine is brought about with exceeding rapidity, and the chemical changes keep up quite handily with the measured rates of depolarization and repolarization taking place along the course of a nerve fiber.

All nerve cells contain the enzymes that form acetylcholine and break it down.

The secretion of acetylcholine alters the properties of the muscle cell membrane, brings about the influx of sodium ion, and, in short, initiates a wave of depolarization just like that which takes place in a nerve cell.

Any substance that will inhibit the action of cholinesterase and put an end to the cycle of acetylcholine buildup and breakdown thus will not only put an end to the nerve impulse but will also put an end to the stimulation and contraction of muscles.

Here the most likely fault is that the acetylcholine formation at the neuromuscular junction is insufficient, or perhaps that it is formed in normal amounts but is too quickly broken down by cholinesterase.

The therapeutic use of a cholinesterase-inhibitor conserves the acetylcholine and can, at least temporarily, improve muscle action.

Esterases in the body break the drug down rapidly into acetylcholine, so it is also likely to be undetectable, unless the target happens to croak right outside a primo medical center with a very sharp pathologist who is looking for something out of the ordinary.

Esterases in the body break the chemical down into acetylcholine fairly rapidly, so it is very likely to be undetectable, even by someone up at Columbia-Presbyterian.