noun
- a poisonous alkaloid extracted from curare, used in medicine and research as a muscle relaxant.
Usage: technical; pharmacology
Examples
- Curarine was isolated from curare and studied for its effects on neuromuscular transmission.
- The researcher administered curarine to the laboratory animal to observe muscle paralysis.
- Curarine acts by blocking acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction.
- Early anesthesiologists experimented with curarine as a surgical muscle relaxant.