phenylephrine
[fen″il-ef´rin] an adrenergic with potent vasoconstrictor properties; used as the hydrochloride salt for various purposes: topically to decongest nasal and laryngeal mucous membranes or to produce mydriasis without cycloplegia; intravenously to maintain blood pressure during spinal and inhalation anesthesia, to treat vascular failure in drug-induced shock, shocklike states, and hypotension, to prolong spinal anesthesia, and to treat paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia; and orally as a component of combination antihistaminic-decongestant preparations.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.