tetanic
Locked in spasm
Tetanic describes sustained muscular contraction or spasm, particularly the kind caused by tetanus infection or by rapid electrical stimulation of a nerve.
In physiology, tetanic contraction occurs when stimuli arrive faster than muscles can relax between them: The researcher induced tetanic response in the isolated muscle fiber.
The word appears most often in medical and scientific contexts.
Reduction in size
- crampPainful muscle seizure
- convulsionSudden involuntary muscle contractions
- lockjawSustained jaw muscle spasm
- myoclonusSudden brief muscle jerks
twitch · fasciculation · clonus · spasticity · jerking · tremor · twitching · paroxysm
Biological-origin harm agent
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- immunizationProtective medical injection
- vaccineDisease prevention injection
- boosterSomething that increases strength
antitoxin · prophylaxis · wound · incubation · bacterium · neurotoxin · risus sardonicus · jaw clenching
Contractile body tissue
- contractionReduction in size
- tensionStretched or strained state
- stiffnessResistance to deformation
- hypertoniaPathological muscle tightness
myotonia · cramp · strain · fatigue · soreness · tightness · overexertion · lactic acid
Not easily bent
- tautStretched under tension
- rigidUnable to bend
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
immovable · unbending · tense · locked · boardlike · sustained · prolonged · continuous
contraction
Reduction in size
- crampPainful muscle seizure
- convulsionSudden involuntary muscle contractions
- lockjawSustained jaw muscle spasm
myoclonus · twitch · fasciculation · clonus · spasticity · jerking · tremor · twitching · paroxysm · seizure
toxin
Biological-origin harm agent
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- immunizationProtective medical injection
- vaccineDisease prevention injection
booster · antitoxin · prophylaxis · wound · incubation · bacterium · neurotoxin · risus sardonicus · jaw clenching · neuromuscular
muscle
Contractile body tissue
- contractionReduction in size
- tensionStretched or strained state
- stiffnessResistance to deformation
hypertonia · myotonia · cramp · strain · fatigue · soreness · tightness · overexertion · lactic acid · myalgia
stiff
Not easily bent
- tautStretched under tension
- rigidUnable to bend
- inflexibleUnable to bend
unyielding · immovable · unbending · tense · locked · boardlike · sustained · prolonged · continuous · unrelenting
- tetanus shotImmunization against bacterial spasm disease