tenesmus

American  

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

noun

Pathology.

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

---

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

---

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

The symptoms are burning sensation in the mouth, throat, stomach, and abdomen, followed by vomiting, diarrhœa, with tenesmus and distension of the abdomen.

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

If the abstinence is continued for two or three days he has borborygmi, occasionally tenesmus.

From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Thomson, Basil

Purging not always present, but tenesmus and strangury.

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

The general complaints of disease among us were a dizziness in the head, great weakness of the joints, and violent tenesmus, most of us having had no evacuation by stool since we left the ship.

From A Voyage to the South Sea For The Purpose Of Conveying The Bread-Fruit Tree To The West Indies, Including An Account Of The Mutiny On Board The Ship by Bligh, William