(1) A muscle that works in concert with an AGONIST muscle to perform a certain movement.
(2) An agent, for example a drug, that acts with another to produce a result that is greater than adding together the separate effects of the two agents. Synergism in drug treatment may be bene?cial, as in the case of combined LEVODOPA and SELEGILINE, a selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor (see MONOAMINE OXIDASE INHIBITORS (MAOIS), in the treatment of PARKINSONISM. It may be potentially dangerous, however, as when MAOIs boost the effects of BARBITURATES.
n. 1. a drug that interacts with another to produce increased activity, which is greater than the sum of the effects of the two drugs given separately. Some synergists may have dangerous effects, as when MAO inhibitors enhance the effects of antihistamine and antimuscarinic drugs. 2. a muscle that acts with an *agonist in making a particular movement. —synergism n.
gangrene of tissues produced by different bacteria acting together, usually a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Particular forms are Meleney’s gangrene (of the abdominal wall) and Fournier’s gangrene (of the scrotal area). Synergistic gangrene has a pronounced tendency to spread along fascial planes, causing *necrotizing fasciitis.... synergistic gangrene
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