Definition

1. Noun:
   • A surgical instrument: A tool used in medical procedures to enlarge or stretch an opening or an organ.
   • A drug or agent: A substance that causes the widening or expansion of a bodily passage, such as a blood vessel or the pupil of the eye.
   • A muscle or nerve: An anatomical structure responsible for dilating or widening a specific body part.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Surgical Instrument):

  • The surgeon used a dilator to widen the narrowed artery.
  • A cervical dilator is employed in certain gynecological procedures.

• Noun (Drug/Agent):

  • The doctor prescribed a pupil dilator for the eye examination.
  • Vasodilators are a common type of dilator used to treat hypertension.

• Noun (Muscle/Nerve):

  • The radial dilator of the iris controls how much light enters the eye.
  • Damage to the nasal dilator can affect breathing.

Advanced Usage

• "Bronchodilator": A specific type of drug that acts as a dilator for the airways in the lungs.

  • Asthma inhalers often contain a bronchodilator to relieve constriction.

• In a metaphorical sense: While less common, "dilator" can describe something that causes expansion or prolongation in a non-physical context.

  • His detailed explanations were a dilator of the meeting's duration.

Variants and Related Words

• Dilate (verb): To become or make wider, larger, or more open.
  • Pupils dilate in low light.
• Dilation (noun): The process of dilating or the condition of being dilated.
  • The dilation of blood vessels is called vasodilation.
• Dilatory (adjective): Tending to cause delay; slow to act. (Note: This is a different meaning related to slowness, not physical expansion).
  • The committee was criticized for its dilatory progress.

Synonyms

• Expander: Something that increases the size or volume of something else.
• Speculum: A surgical instrument for dilating a passage for inspection (a specific type of dilator).

Related Phrases

• "Pupil dilator": Specifically refers to the muscle or drug that causes the pupil to widen.
• "Esophageal dilator": A surgical instrument used to stretch a narrowed esophagus.

Noun

1. a surgical instrument that is used to dilate or distend an opening or an organ
2. a drug that causes dilation
3. a muscle or nerve that dilates or widens a body part