Definition

A medication used to lower high blood pressure, often in the form of its sulfate salt.

Example

The doctor prescribed guanethidine to help manage my hypertension.

Conversation

Have you heard of guanethidine?

I think I read about it in a medical article, but I'm not sure what it does.

It's actually used to treat hypertension, which is pretty interesting.

Oh, that makes sense! It's amazing how many different medications are out there.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Guanethidine is formed from "guanidine" (a compound derived from the amino acid arginine, meaning a nitrogen-containing compound) and "-thidine" (a suffix used in chemistry to denote a specific type of compound). The word refers to a specific chemical compound used primarily as an antihypertensive agent.

Memory Tip

Think of 'guanidine' as a nitrogen compound and '-thidine' as a chemical suffix, which helps you remember that guanethidine is a specific type of nitrogen-containing compound used in medicine.

Visually Confused Words