vasopressor
C2Medical/Clinical
Definition
Meaning
A drug that constricts blood vessels, raising blood pressure.
Any substance (like a medication or endogenous hormone) that causes vasoconstriction, thereby increasing vascular resistance and systemic arterial pressure. It's often used in critical care medicine to manage conditions like shock and severe hypotension.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
This is a highly technical medical term, formed by combining 'vaso-' (relating to blood vessels) and 'pressor' (producing an increase in blood pressure). It is used almost exclusively as a noun, particularly as a count noun ('administer a vasopressor') and sometimes attributively ('vasopressor therapy').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Both variants use the same term in identical clinical contexts. Spelling conventions (e.g., metre/meter) are not relevant here as it is a single, standardized scientific compound.
Connotations
Neutral and purely clinical in both dialects.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in general language but consistently high in specialist medical discourse (anaesthesiology, intensive care, emergency medicine) in both the UK and US.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Patient] requires a vasopressor for [condition].The team initiated [vasopressor] to maintain [target].She is on a [vasopressor] infusion.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used.
Academic
Exclusively used in medical research papers, pharmacology, and physiology texts.
Everyday
Virtually never used. A patient might hear it in a hospital but is unlikely to use it.
Technical
Core term in anaesthesiology, critical care, emergency medicine, and cardiology for describing a class of life-saving drugs like norepinephrine, vasopressin, or phenylephrine.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- The patient's vasopressor requirements were high.
- A vasopressor response was observed.
American English
- The patient remained vasopressor-dependent.
- We reviewed the vasopressor dosing protocol.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- In severe shock, doctors may need to use strong medicines called vasopressors.
- The intensivist decided to initiate a noradrenaline infusion as the primary vasopressor to counteract the septic shock.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'Vaso' (like 'vascular' for blood vessels) + 'Pressor' (like 'pressure'). It's a vessel pressor that presses/squeezes the vessels to raise pressure.
Conceptual Metaphor
A chemical clamp or a pharmaceutical tourniquet that tightens the circulatory pipes to increase the pressure within the system.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation of parts. It is not 'сосудодавитель'. The standard medical translation is 'вазопрессор' or 'прессорное средство'.
- Do not confuse with related terms like 'гипертензивный' (hypertensive), which describes a state, not a drug class.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'to vasopressor the patient' is incorrect).
- Pronouncing it with stress on the first syllable (/ˈveɪzəʊprɛsə/). The stress is standardly on 'press': /...ˈprɛs.../.
- Confusing it with 'inotrope' (which affects cardiac contractility, though some drugs have both properties).
Practice
Quiz
In which of the following situations would a 'vasopressor' MOST likely be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Not exactly. Adrenaline (epinephrine) is one specific example of a vasopressor drug. 'Vasopressor' is the class name for all drugs that work by constricting blood vessels to raise blood pressure.
It would be highly unusual and potentially confusing. In everyday talk, one might say 'medicine to raise blood pressure' or 'strong blood pressure medicine'.
While life-saving, excessive vasoconstriction can reduce blood flow to vital organs like the kidneys, fingers, and toes, potentially causing ischaemia or tissue damage.
Primarily a noun ('administer a vasopressor'). It can also be used attributively as an adjective in medical jargon ('vasopressor support', 'vasopressor effect'). It is not a verb.