sympath
sympath — combining form
1. a word element borrowed from Greek that attaches to the beginning of a medical t
a word element borrowed from Greek that attaches to the beginning of a medical term to show a connection with the sympathetic nervous system — the part of your nervous system that controls automatic body responses like a faster heartbeat, wider breathing tubes, and higher blood pressure when you are under stress or in danger.
During an asthma attack, the doctor used a sympathomimetic inhaler to open the child's narrowed airways.
sympatho-mimetic = mimics sympathetic nerve activity; concrete: asthma context
Doctors prescribed a sympatholytic agent to lower the patient's dangerously high blood pressure by blocking sympathetic nerve signals.
sympatho-lytic = blocks sympathetic nerve activity
The nurse gave the patient atenolol, a sympatholytic drug blocking stress effects on the heart.
Patients with sweaty palms may choose a sympathectomy to cut overactive sympathetic nerves.
In class, students saw epinephrine, a sympathomimetic drug, widen a volunteer's pupils within seconds.
- sympathetic (combining form sense)
an alternative combining form with the same meaning, though 'sympath-' is more common as the base in specialised terms
- adrenergic
refers specifically to nerve fibres that release norepinephrine; overlaps with the sympathetic system but is not identical in scope
- parasympath-
combining form for the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls 'rest and digest' functions opposite to the sympathetic system
文法句型
sympath- + connecting vowel -o- + [suffix] (e.g. sympatho-mimetic, sympatho-lytic)
用法筆記
When 'sympath-' attaches to a suffix beginning with a consonant, a linking vowel '-o-' is inserted (e.g. 'sympatholytic', not 'sympathlytic'). The combining form appears almost exclusively in specialised medical and biological writing; most English speakers encounter it only in dictionary entries or pharmacology textbooks.