paracrine
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Applied to cellular secretions that act on cells a short-distance from their site of secretion. For example, insulin-like growth factors secreted by a muscle cell may promote the growth of neighbouring muscle cells and connective tissues.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary:
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par·a·crine
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
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paracrine
Indicative of the action of the secretion of one kind of endocrine cell on another kind which is not the normal effector cell.
- p. hormones — in contrast to true endocrines these hormones are not released into the bloodstream but into the surrounding tissues and act in the immediate vicinity, e.g. intestinal mucosal hormones.
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Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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