tenesmus

American  

[tuh-nez-muhs, -nes-] / təˈnɛz məs, -ˈnɛs- /

noun

Pathology.

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

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tenesmus British  

/ -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

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Other Word Forms

• tenesmic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tenesmus

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

Example Sentences

A second class is composed of cases in which the stools are decidedly dysenteric, small, frequent, bloody, with tenesmus and great pain; high fever, restlessness and sleeplessness.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock

There is intense thirst and constipation, with scanty or suppressed urine, tenesmus, and small and frequent pulse; the lips, tongue, and inside of the mouth, are shrivelled and corroded.

From Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by Robertson, W. G. Aitchison (William George Aitchison )

The pain was similar to a vesical tenesmus, a pain in the region of the neck of the bladder and prostate gland.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock

Aloe given internally seems to act chiefly on the rectum and, spincter ani, producing tenesmus and piles.

From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus

This flux, which is sometimes accompanied by a little blood and tenesmus, rarely continues long, and may be succeeded by a degree of constipation.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various