tetrodotoxin

UK: /ˌtɛtrəʊdəʊˈtɒksɪn/ US: (te trō′də tok′sin)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

te•tro•do•tox•in  (te trō′də tok′sin), n. [Pharm.]

1. Drugs a neurotoxin, C₁₁H₁₇N₃O₃, occurring in a species of puffer fish: ingestion of the toxin is usually rapidly fatal due to heart failure or asphyxiation;
   used experimentally to block impulse conduction potential in excitable cells.

• Neo-Latin Tetrodo(n) genus name of the puffer fish (see tetr-, -odont) + toxin
• 1910–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tetrodotoxin / ˌtɛtrəʊdəʊˈtɒksɪn/ noun

1. a highly lethal neurotoxin found in certain puffer fish and in newts of the genus Taricha. Formula: C₁₁H₁₇N₃O₃

Etymology: 20th Century: from New Latin Tetrodon (puffer fish genus name, from Greek tetra- fourfold + odont- tooth) + toxin