The capacity of a muscle or cell to contract; the quality of being able to shorten or reduce in size.
From 'contractile' (able to contract) + '-ity' (quality of). This medical and physiological term has been crucial to understanding how muscles and hearts function.
Cardiologists measure the contractility of your heart—its strength and ability to pump—because a weakened heart loses this crucial property and can't push blood effectively!
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