tenesmus

[tuh-nez-muh s, -nes-]

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various
Blood mixed with mucus and tenesmus accompany inflammation low down.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various
The large watery stools and the absence of tenesmus mark the difference between diarrhoea and dysentery.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various
The tenesmus (cupiditas egerendi) is a more distressing, and certainly more distinctive, sign of dysentery.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tenesmus

tenesmus

noun

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

Derived Formstenesmic, adjective

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tenesmus

1520s, from Latin tenesmos, from Greek tenesmos "straining," from teinein "to stretch" (see tenet).

tenesmus in Medicine

tenesmus

[tə-nĕz′məs]

n.

A painful spasm of the anal sphincter accompanied by an urgent desire to evacuate the bowel or bladder and involuntary straining that results in the passing of little or no matter.