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Medical Definition of Cyclic adenylic acid
1. An activator of phosphorylase kinase and an effector of other enzymes, formed in muscle from ATP by adenylate cyclase and broken down to 5'-AMP by a phosphodiesterase; sometimes referred to as the "second messenger." A related compound (2',3') is also known. Synonym: cyclic adenylic acid, cyclic AMP, cyclic phosphate. Acronym: cAMP (05 Mar 2000)