intermittent tetanus
- noun
- /ˌɪntərˈmɪtənt ˈtɛtənəs/
- Specialized
:
tétano intermitente
- Patients suffering from intermittent tetanus may experience episodes of muscle cramps and twitching.
Examples
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Doctors diagnosed the patient with intermittent tetanus after observing recurrent spasmodic contractions.
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Patients with intermittent tetanus often experience muscle cramps.
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A deficiency in calcium can lead to intermittent tetanus in some individuals.
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The doctor diagnosed her with intermittent tetanus after several tests.
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Doctors diagnosed the patient with intermittent tetanus after observing recurrent spasmodic contractions.
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A deficiency in calcium can lead to intermittent tetanus in some individuals.
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Patients suffering from intermittent tetanus may experience episodes of muscle cramps and twitching.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A condition that causes muscle twitching and painful cramps, often from low calcium
A condition causing muscle twitches, painful cramps, and sometimes seizures from low calcium
A condition that causes muscle twitching, cramps, and sometimes seizures without fever, often from low calcium or vitamin D
Painful muscle twitching that comes and goes, sometimes with seizures, from low calcium or vitamin D
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'intermittent' means occurring sporadically and 'tetanus' refers to sustained muscle contraction or the clinical syndrome, so together they denote sporadic episodes of tetanic muscle activity. This modifier+noun pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Intermittent tetanus combines intermittent, meaning 'on and off', and tetanus, a word for 'stiffness', so picture a muscle that goes tight, then relaxes, then tight again like a light turning on and off. That's why the name describes repeated muscle twitching, cramps, or short episodes when muscles go stiff.