- antidromic
- Denoting the propagation of an impulse along a conduction system ( e.g., nerve fiber) in the direction opposite to which it normally travels.
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an·ti·dro·mic .ant-i-'dräm-ik, -'drōm- adj1) proceeding or conducting in a direction opposite to the usual one used esp. of a nerve impulse or fiber <\antidromic action potentials>2) characterized by antidromic conduction <\antidromic tachycardia in which impulses travel from the ventricle to the atrium via the atrioventricular node>an·ti·dro·mi·cal·ly -i-k(ə-)lē adv* * *
adj.describing impulses travelling 'the wrong way' in a nerve fibre. This is rare but may happen in shingles, when the irritation caused by the virus in the spinal canal initiates impulses that travel outwards in normally afferent nerves. The area of skin that the sensory nerves supply (usually a strip on the trunk) becomes painfully blistered. Antidromic impulses cannot pass synapse, which work in one direction only.* * *
an·ti·drom·ic (an″te-dromґik) [Gr. antidromein to run in a contrary direction] conducting impulses in a direction opposite to the normal; see under conduction. Cf. orthodromic.
Medical dictionary. 2011.