antidromous
|an-ti-dro-mous|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.tɪˈdroʊ.məs/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tɪˈdrəʊ.məs/
against the normal course
Etymology
'antidromous' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'antidromos', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'dromos' meant 'running' or 'course'.
'antidromous' changed from Greek 'antidromos' and passed into scientific Neo-Latin usage before being adopted into English (from the 19th century) as 'antidromous'.
Initially it meant 'running or moving against (a course)'; over time it became specialized to mean 'conducted or migrating in the opposite direction' (especially in physiology and zoology).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
conducted or proceeding in a direction opposite to the normal or expected one; especially of nerve impulses that travel opposite the usual (orthodromic) direction (i.e., from axon toward cell body).
The researchers recorded an antidromous impulse traveling back toward the neuron's soma.
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Adjective 2
moving or migrating in the opposite direction to the usual or expected route (used of animals, fishes, or migrations).
Some populations show antidromous migrations between freshwater and marine habitats.
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Last updated: 2025/08/31 05:02