acetylcholinesterase ,systematic name: acetylcholine acetylhydrolase; other names: true cholinesterase; cholinesterase I; an esterase enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of acetylcholine to choline and acetate; it also acts on a variety of acetic esters and catalyses transacetylations. It is found in or attached to cellular or basement membranes of presynaptic cholinergic neurons and postsynaptic cholinoceptive cells.