stressors


stres·sors

(stres'ŏrs, -ōrs), 1. Any urge, force, or pressure (that is, deleterious force) brought to bear on a person, bodily system, or governmental or private health care system or structure, such that the entity subject to such duress reacts in a manner that either perverts or transmutes its normal function. 2. In endocrinology, any force that threatens homeostasis. [ stress + -or, agent suffix]