ileus

[ il-ee-uhs ]

nounPathology.

intestinal obstruction characterized by lack of peristalsis and leading to severe colicky pain and vomiting.

Origin of ileus

1700–10; <Latin īleus colic <Greek eileós, equivalent to eile- (stem of eílein to roll) + -os noun suffix

Words Nearby ileus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ileus in a sentence

Is the seat or cause of the ileus always below the valve of the colon, and that of the cholera above it?
Zoonomia, Vol. II | Erasmus Darwin
Whence it appears, that the enteritis with hard quick pulse differs from ileus, described in Class I. 3.
Zoonomia, Vol. II | Erasmus Darwin
Calomel from ten to twenty grains given in small pills as in ileus; these means used early in the disease generally succeed.
Zoonomia, Vol. II | Erasmus Darwin
That is natural, but it is a shock to have him here described as son of ileus.
The Rhesus of Euripedes | Euripedes
The son of ileus is "Ajax the less," a hero of the second rank.
The Rhesus of Euripedes | Euripedes

British Dictionary definitions for ileus

ileus

/ (ˈɪlɪəs) /

noun

obstruction of the intestine, esp the ileum, by mechanical occlusion or as the result of distension of the bowel following loss of muscular action

Origin of ileus

C18: from Latin īleos severe colic, from Greek eileos a rolling, twisting, from eilein to roll

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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