What does constriction mean?

Definitions for constriction
kənˈstrɪk ʃəncon·stric·tion

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word constriction.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. constriction, bottleneck, chokepointnoun

    a narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel

  2. constriction, coarctationnoun

    tight or narrow compression

  3. constriction, tightnessnoun

    a tight feeling in some part of the body

    "he felt a constriction in her chest"; "she felt an alarming tightness in her chest"; "emotion caused a constriction of his throat"

  4. constrictionnoun

    the action or process of compressing

Wiktionary

  1. constrictionnoun

    The act of constricting, the state of being constricted, or something that constricts

  2. constrictionnoun

    A narrow part of something; a stricture

  3. constrictionnoun

    A compression

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Constrictionnoun

    Contraction; compression.

    Etymology: from constrict.

    The air which these receive into the lungs, may serve to render their bodies equiponderant to the water; and the constriction or dilatation of it, may probably assist them to ascend or descend in the water. John Ray, on the Creation.

Wikipedia

  1. Constriction

    Constriction is a method used by various snake species to kill or subdue their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake initially strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey into its coils or, in the case of very large prey, pulling itself onto the prey. The snake will then wrap one or two loops around the prey, forming a constriction coil. The snake will monitor the prey's heartbeat to ascertain when it is dead. This can be a physically demanding and potentially dangerous procedure for the snake, as it accelerates its metabolism up to seven times and leaves it vulnerable to attack by another predator.Contrary to myth, the snake does not crush the prey, or break its bones. However, several natural observations exist involving wild anacondas that show broken bones in large prey. Also, contrary to previous belief, the snake does not cause suffocation by constricting the victim;  instead, a study of death caused by boa constrictors showed that constriction "shuts off" blood flow (and therefore oxygen) needed by vital organs such as the heart and brain, leading to unconsciousness within seconds and cardiac arrest shortly thereafter. Further, multiple species of snakes have been shown to constrict with pressures higher than those shown to induce cardiac arrest. In conjunction with observations of oral and nasal hemorrhaging in prey, constriction pressures are also thought to interfere with neural processing by forcing blood towards the brain. In other words, constriction can work by different mechanisms at varying pressures. It likely interferes with breathing at low pressures, can interrupt blood flow and overwhelm the prey's usual blood pressure and circulation at moderate pressures, and can interfere with neural processing and damage tissues at high pressures.During constriction events where the prey's heart is impeded, arterial pressure drops while venous pressure increases, and blood vessels begin to close. The heart does not have enough strength to pump against the pressure and blood flow stops. Internal organs with high metabolic rates, including the brain, liver, and heart, begin to stop functioning and die due to ischemia, a loss of oxygen and glucose. There is evidence that boa constrictors have more difficulty killing ectotherms—animals like lizards and snakes that rely on external heat to regulate their body temperatures. A boa constrictor was observed attacking a spinytail iguana for an hour, and the iguana survived.As this is comparatively recent research (2015), it is possible that other constrictors kill in other ways. It had previously been accepted that constrictors used their body to hold the prey tight and prevent the prey from drawing air into its lungs, resulting in death from asphyxia, or that the pressure of constriction causes a rise in the pressure in the prey's body cavity greater than the heart can counter, resulting in immediate cardiac arrest; data from earlier studies had also indicated that snakes can exert enough pressure for these to be plausible.Certain groups of snakes have characteristic patterns of constriction, including the number of coils they use and the orientation of the coils.Venomous snakes that also use constriction include the genus Clelia (ophiophagous South American mildly venomous rear-fanged colubrids which use constriction to subdue snakes including pit vipers), the western terrestrial garter snake (North American colubrid which is an inefficient constrictor and, like most Thamnophis garter snakes, mildly venomous), some species of Boiga snakes (Asian and Australian rear-fanged colubrids) including the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), some species of Australian elapids (including some of the venomous Pseudonaja brown snakes and one Australian coral snake Simoselaps), and a few Australian colubrids.

ChatGPT

  1. constriction

    Constriction refers to the process or act of making something narrow or becoming tighter or shrinking, usually due to external pressure or force. It can also refer to limiting or restricting something. This term can be used in a variety of contexts, including physics, biology, medicine, and more.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Constrictionnoun

    the act of constricting by means of some inherent power or by movement or change in the thing itself, as distinguished from compression

  2. Constrictionnoun

    the state of being constricted; the point where a thing is constricted; a narrowing or binding

  3. Etymology: [L. constrictio: cf. F. constriction.]

Wikidata

  1. Constriction

    Constriction is a method used by various snake species to kill their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake initially strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey into its coils or, in the case of very large prey, pulling itself onto the prey. The snake will then wrap one or two coils around the prey. Contrary to myth, the snake does not crush the prey, or even break its bones. Traditionally, it has been thought that snakes hold tightly enough to prevent the prey from drawing air into its lungs, resulting in death from asphyxia. However, some prey items seem to die faster than would be possible through asphyxia, so it has also been suggested that the pressure of constriction causes a rise in the pressure in the prey's body cavity greater than the heart can counter, resulting in immediate cardiac arrest. This new hypothesis has yet to be confirmed, but data indicates that snakes can exert enough pressure for this mechanism to be plausible. Research into this topic is ongoing. It has been found that the green anaconda has a constriction strength of 6 kg/cm², which effectively means a total strength of 4000 kg.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Constriction

    The act of constricting.

Matched Categories

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of constriction in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of constriction in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of constriction in a Sentence

  1. Jennifer Leighdon Wu:

    We know that smoking causes vasoconstriction, or constriction of the blood vessels, when this happens with the uterus, it can cause pain.

  2. Matt Rosendale:

    I’ll fight for more freedom and prosperity for all Montana, we need to send trump some conservative reinforcing that will end the liberal constriction.

  3. Robert Bork:

    As government regulations grow slowly, we become used to the harness. Habit is a powerful force, and we no longer feel as intensely as we once would have [the] constriction of our liberties that would have been utterly intolerable a mere half century ago.

  4. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo:

    By law, no city in the state can close down, can quarantine unless the state government allows it. I will not allow any quarantine of any city or any jurisdiction in this state, so that is not going to happen, there's no discussion of closing down New York City, meaning quarantine geographic constriction.

  5. James Butterfill:

    We expect miners to continue to cut capex, which raises concerns over their longer term profitability, that's why we think we're nearing the floor in copper... as the cuts in capex will lead to a constriction on supply. Markets have also priced in a big contraction in Chinese consumption, which the data is not supporting.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

constriction#10000#56975#100000

Translations for constriction

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"constriction." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/constriction>.

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