See Also: botulinum toxin(medicine)
Botulinum toxin(health)
botulinum toxin type a(medicine)
C botulinum(health)
botulinum toxins(medicine)
Clostridium botulinum(medicine)
botulinum antitoxin(medicine)
Clostridium botulinum(health)
bee toxin(medicine)
Toxin(medicine)

Cy Pres (law) and Botulinum toxin (health)


Cy Pres (law)




French word (pronounced See-pray) meaning as close as possible.





Botulinum toxin (health)


A toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum that is the most poisonous biological substance known. Botulinum toxin acts as a neurotoxin. It binds to the nerve ending at the point where the nerve joins a muscle, blocking the release by the nerve of the chemical acetylcholine (the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction), preventing the muscle from contracting. The result is weakness and paralysis of the muscle. The muscle atrophies. The blockage of acetylcholine release is irreversible. Function can be recovered by the sprouting of nerve terminals and the formation of new synaptic contacts, which usually takes 2 to 3 months.