tetrodotoxin Hear it!

tetrodotoxin definition

tetrodo·toxin (te′trə dō täk′sin)

noun

an extremely poisonous neurotoxin, CHNO, found in the puffer fishes and a genus (Taricha) of newts, that blocks the conduction of nerve signals

Etymology: < ModL Tetrodon, a genus of fishes (short for tetraodon < tetra-, tetra- + Gr odōn, tooth) + toxin

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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