NEUROMUSCULAR BLOCKING AGENT

also called Curariform Drug, any of various drugs that interfere with the transmission of stimulatory impulses from nerve to muscle. The drugs affect the action of acetylcholine, a compound that is released by nerve endings and taken up by receptor sites in muscle cells to initiate muscle contraction. Competitive or stabilizing neuromuscular blocking agents compete with acetylcholine for the receptor sites. Curare and its synthetic analogs are such drugs, used to induce muscle relaxation in surgery. Depolarizing agents produce an immediate and prolonged depolarization of the muscle receptors, thus paralyzing muscle response by preventing the receptors from responding to acetylcholine. See also ganglion blocking agent.