Definition of Receptor

1. Noun. A cellular structure that is postulated to exist in order to mediate between a chemical agent that acts on nervous tissue and the physiological response.


2. Noun. An organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation.

Definition of Receptor

1. Noun. (context: biochemistry medicine) A protein on a cell wall that binds with specific molecules so that they can be absorbed into the cell in order to control certain functions. ¹

2. Noun. (biology) Any specialized cell or structure that responds to sensory stimuli. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Receptor

1. a nerve ending specialized to receive stimuli [n -S]

Medical Definition of Receptor

1. 1. A molecular structure within a cell or on the surface characterised by selective binding of a specific substance and a specific physiologic effect that accompanies the binding, for example, cell surface receptors for peptide hormones, neurotransmitters, antigens, complement fragments and immunoglobulins and cytoplasmic receptors for steroid hormones. 2. A sensory nerve terminal that responds to stimuli of various kinds. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Receptor

reception line
reception room
receptionist
receptionists
receptions
receptive
receptive aphasia
receptive field
receptive language
receptively
receptiveness
receptivenesses
receptivities
receptivity
receptoma
receptor (current term)
receptor aggregation
receptor agonist
receptor downregulation
receptor mediated endocytosis
receptor potential
receptor protein
receptor protein-tyrosine kinase
receptor site
receptor tyrosine kinase
receptories
receptors
receptory
receptosome
receptosomes

Literary usage of Receptor

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (1903)
"AND MEDICINE 162,-21 (1979) Role of Insulin receptors and receptor Antibodies in States of Altered Insulin Action (40609) C. RONALD KAHN w Branch. ..."

2. Molecular Neurobiology: Proceedings of the 2nd NIMH Conference by Steven Zalcman (1995)
"Both striatal D1A and D2A receptors show a similar developmental pattern where receptor number increases by 6-14 fold over the first 30 days postnatal. ..."

3. Inside the Cell by Maya Pines (1990)
"Like a lock that accepts only an appropriately shaped key, each different receptor will function only when the correctly shaped blood-borne molecule (called ..."

4. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1883)
"We will assume for the moment that this unit binds to the receptor antibody. ... Hence the Interaction sensing unit Interaction region Antibody receptor ..."

5. Principles of General Physiology by William Maddock Bayliss (1920)
"Delicate special receptor organs have been formed, especially in the land vertebrates. That of smell has, indeed, become a kind ..."

6. Human Psychology by Howard Crosby Warren (1919)
"The process of stimulation and the nature of the sensory impulse depend quite as much upon the make-up of the receptor as upon the stimulus itself. ..."

7. Human Psychology by Howard Crosby Warren (1919)
"In general, however, the longer a stimulus acts upon a receptor, ... In the first place it is the receptor that determines whether or not any given force ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Receptor on Dictionary.com!Search for Receptor on Thesaurus.com!Search for Receptor on Google!Search for Receptor on Wikipedia!

Search