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Medical Definition of Cyclic phosphate
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)