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tetanic

tetanic

9.9
Relating to or causing sudden muscle spasms from low blood calcium
  • adjective
  • /təˈtænɪk/
  • Specialized
: tétanico
  • The patient displayed a tetanic response after the nerve was stimulated.

Examples

  • Some toxins have a tetanic effect on the muscular system.

  • The patient exhibited tetanic spasms during the examination.

  • A drop in blood calcium levels may lead to tetanic muscle contractions.

  • Doctors are concerned about tetanic symptoms in patients.

  • The doctor explained that tetanic spasms can occur if calcium levels are too low in the body.

  • After several hours of rigorous exercise, he experienced tetanic contractions in his muscles.

  • Patients with low magnesium levels may suffer from tetanic symptoms, including painful muscle cramps.

Synonyms

spastic
vstetanic
  • Specialized
8 8.6

Having stiff or uncontrolled muscles because of a nerve problem

is specific to a single medical condition marked by muscular spasms

How Spasmodic

tetanic
  • Specialized
9.9
convulsive
  • Specialized
2 7.7
clonic
  • Specialized
1 9.5
spasmodic
2 8.1

Surface Forms

tetanic positive

Morphology

tetanic = tetany (transparent) = tetan + ic

Standard adjectival formation from the noun 'tetany' using '-ic', yielding 'relating to or causing tetany'.

Etymology

Tetanic comes from the Greek tetanos, from teinein meaning 'to stretch', an idea you can see in English words like tension or tense. That's why tetanic describes conditions that make muscles suddenly go 'tight' and spasm.