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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenaline

Adrenaline

Epinephrine (also referred to as Adrenaline; see Terminology) is a hormone and neurotransmitter. When produced in the body it increases heart rate, contracts blood vessels and dilates air passages and participates in the "fight or flight" response of the sympathetic nervous system. It is a catecholamine, a sympathomimetic monoamine produced only by the adrenal glands from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.

The term Adrenaline is derived from the Latin roots ad- and renes, and literally means on the kidney, in reference to the gland's anatomic location. The Greek roots epi- and nephros have similar meanings, and give rise to epinephrine. The term epinephrine is often shortened to epi in medical jargon.

Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine and his assistant Keizo Uenaka independently discovered Adrenaline in 1900. In 1901 Takamine successfully isolated and purified the hormone from the adrenal glands of sheep and oxen. Adrenaline was first synthesized by Friedrich Stolz and Henry Drysdale Dakin, independently, in 1904.

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Last updated: October 14, 2010