Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Purinergic nerves: A new type of nerve 

Purinergic nerves: A new type of nerve
Chapter:
Purinergic nerves: A new type of nerve
Author(s):

Guy Rousseau

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780198834359.003.0009
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2021. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 16 January 2021

It was in 1972 that Burnstock laid the foundation of a new nerve type that he called ‘purinergic nerves’. In this article, he presented experimental data using five criteria to establish that adenosine triphosphate can be considered to be a neurotransmitter, including (1) the release of a purinergic molecule from terminal axons, (2) the structures of purinergic nerves, (3) the electrophysiological properties of purinergic transmission, (4) the pharmacology of adenyl compounds and purinergic transmission, and (5) the distribution and evolution of the purinergic nerves. However, in spite of convincing data, it took more than 20 years for the scientific community to accept this hypothesis. Since then, it has been recognized that the purinergic system is involved in multiple short-term actions such as cell proliferation and pain.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.