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tenesmus

[ tuh-nez-muhs, -nes- ]

noun

, Pathology.
  1. a straining to urinate or defecate, without the ability to do so.


tenesmus

/ -ˈnɛs-; tɪˈnɛzməs /

noun

  1. pathol an ineffective painful straining to empty the bowels in response to the sensation of a desire to defecate, without producing a significant quantity of faeces
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • teˈnesmic, adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tenesmus1

1520–30; < Medieval Latin, variant of Latin tēnesmos < Greek teinesmós, equivalent to teín ( ein ) to stretch + -esmos noun suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tenesmus1

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin tēnesmos, from Greek teinesmos, from teinein to strain
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Example Sentences

This is called tenesmus, and the straining from it has frequently produced abortion.

Of tenesmus I happened to hear of but a single instance, though the Laplanders eat so much cheese and drink water.

To be used in alvine fluxes, to allay the irritation which occasions constant tenesmus.

A discharge of blood and mucus from the intestines attended with tenesmus.

In half an hour there was abdominal pain, diarrhœa, and tenesmus, and frequent painful micturition.

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