An anticoagulant that inhibits the formation of prothrombin in the liver. Acts as an antagonist of vitamin K; discovered as the causative agent in spoiled hay, which produced bleeding in cattle (sweet clover disease). SYN: bishydroxycoumarin.
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di·cu·ma·rol also di·cou·ma·rol dī-'k(y)ü-mə-.rȯl, -.rōl n a crystalline compound C19H12O6 that acts similarly to warfarin and is used esp. in preventing and treating thromboembolic disease
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di·cu·ma·rol (di-kooґmə-rol) 1. a coumarin anticoagulant found in spoiled sweet clover; animals eating the clover may develop the hemorrhagic condition known as sweet clover disease. 2. a synthetic preparation of the same substance, used as an oral anticoagulant; it acts by inhibiting the hepatic synthesis of vitamin K–dependent coagulation factors (prothrombin and factors VII, IX, and X) and proteins C and S.Medical dictionary. 2011.