tenesmus
[tuh-nez-muh s, -nes-]
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noun Pathology.
a straining to urinate or defecate, without the ability to do so.
Origin of tenesmus
1520–30; < Medieval Latin, variant of Latin tēnesmos < Greek teinesmós, equivalent to teín(ein) to stretch + -esmos noun suffix
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Examples from the Web for tenesmus
Historical Examples of tenesmus
In diarrhœa there is no fever or tenesmus, or pain before the stools, as in dysentery.
A Treatise on Sheep:Ambrose Blacklock
The bowels are constipated—at times so much so as to amount to obstruction—or, again, diarrhoea and tenesmus may be present.
Blood mixed with mucus and tenesmus accompany inflammation low down.
The large watery stools and the absence of tenesmus mark the difference between diarrhoea and dysentery.
The tenesmus (cupiditas egerendi) is a more distressing, and certainly more distinctive, sign of dysentery.
tenesmus
noun
Word Origin for tenesmus
C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin tēnesmos, from Greek teinesmos, from teinein to strain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tenesmus
[tə-nĕz′məs]
n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.