Mifepristone (Noun)
Meaning
An abortion-inducing drug (trade name RU 486) developed in France; when taken during the first five weeks of pregnancy it blocks the action of progesterone so that the uterus sloughs off the embryo.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- Mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol to induce a medical abortion up to five weeks of pregnancy.
- It blocks the action of progesterone to cause a non-surgical abortion when taken along with the prostaglandin analogue misoprostol within the first five weeks of gestation.
- Mifepristone was originally approved as the French abortion pill RU 486, also called the abortion pill.
- Developed in France and approved in some countries, mifepristone, along with another medication, is used to induce an abortion early in pregnancy.
- Mifepristone, sold as RU 486, is a medication primarily used with another drug to induce abortion of a pregnancy less than fifty days duration.