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View synonyms for tetanus
tetanus
[ tet-n-uhs ]
noun
- Pathology. an infectious, often fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium that enters the body through wounds and characterized by respiratory paralysis and tonic spasms and rigidity of the voluntary muscles, especially those of the neck and lower jaw. Compare lockjaw.
- Also called tetanus bacillus. Bacteriology. the bacterium, Clostridium tetani, causing this disease.
- Physiology. a state of sustained contraction of a muscle during which the muscle does not relax to its initial length or tension, induced by a rapid succession of stimuli.
tetanus
/ ˈtɛtənəs /
noun
- Also calledlockjaw an acute infectious disease in which sustained muscular spasm, contraction, and convulsion are caused by the release of exotoxins from the bacterium, Clostridium tetani : infection usually occurs through a contaminated wound
- physiol any tense contraction of a muscle, esp when produced by electric shocks
tetanus
/ tĕt′n-əs /
- An acute, often fatal infectious disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which usually enters the body through a wound and produces a toxin that affects nerve conduction. Tetanus is characterized by painful, spasmodic contractions of voluntary muscles, especially of the jaw.
tetanus
- An acute and infectious disease caused by the toxin produced by a kind of bacteria that enters the body through cuts or wounds; also called lockjaw. In tetanus, the muscles of the body, particularly the muscles of the jaw, contract in painful spasms. Tetanus is deadly but can be prevented through immunization (tetanus shots).
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Derived Forms
- ˈtetaˌnoid, adjective
- ˈtetanal, adjective
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Other Words From
- teta·nal adjective
- teta·noid adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of tetanus1
1350–1400; < Latin < Greek tétanos spasm (of muscles), tetanus; replacing Middle English tetane < Latin, as above
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Word History and Origins
Origin of tetanus1
C16: via Latin from Greek tetanos, from tetanos taut, from teinein to stretch
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