tenesmus

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

/ təˈnɛz məs, -ˈnɛs- /

noun Pathology.

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

Nearby words

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

Of tenesmus I happened to hear of but a single instance, though the Laplanders eat so much cheese and drink water.
Lachesis Lapponica|Carl von Linn
Tenesmus, a sense of weight and of a body present in the bowel, are experienced.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
In diarrhœa there is no fever or tenesmus, or pain before the stools, as in dysentery.
A Treatise on Sheep:|Ambrose Blacklock
The stools are pappy, or watery, profuse, offensive and followed by tenesmus.
New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers|Various

If the disposition to tenesmus be troublesome, a small injection of starch and opium will afford relief.
A System of Midwifery|Edward Rigby

British Dictionary definitions for tenesmus

tenesmus

/ (tɪˈnɛzməs, -ˈnɛs-) /

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

tenesmus

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

Medicine definitions for tenesmus

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.