| a rapidly developing, sometimes fatal infection characterized by sudden onset of fever, gastrointestinal upsets, a sunburnlike rash, and a drop in blood pressure: caused by a Staphylococcus aureus toxin and occurring esp. in menstruating women using high-absorbency tampons. Abbreviation: TSS |

| toxic shock syndrome n. Abbr. TSS An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, occurring chiefly among young menstruating women who use vaginal tampons. |
| TSS abbr. toxic shock syndrome |
toxic shock syndrome n.
Abbr. TSS
An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus, occurring chiefly among young menstruating women who use vaginal tampons. Also called toxic shock.
TSS abbr.
toxic shock syndrome
| toxic shock syndrome (tŏk'sĭk) Pronunciation Key
An acute infection characterized by high fever, a sunburnlike rash, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed in severe cases by shock, that is caused by a toxin-producing strain of the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. It occurs chiefly among menstruating women who use tampons. |
TSS
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