-tet-

a. [ Cf. L. tetanicus suffering from tetanus, Gr. &unr_;, F. tétanique. ] 1. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to tetanus; having the character of tetanus; as, a tetanic state; tetanic contraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

This condition of muscle, this fusion of a number of simple spasms into an apparently smooth, continuous effort, is known as tetanus, or tetanic contraction. Foster. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol. & Med.) Producing, or tending to produce, tetanus, or tonic contraction of the muscles; as, a tetanic remedy. See Tetanic, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physiol. Chem.) A poisonous base (ptomaine) formed in meat broth through the agency of a peculiar microbe from the wound of a person who has died of tetanus; -- so called because it produces tetanus as one of its prominent effects. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physiol.) The production or condition of tetanus. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. (Physiol.) To throw, as a muscle, into a state of permanent contraction; to cause tetanus in. See Tetanus, n., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Tetanus + -oid. ] (Med. & Physiol.) Resembling tetanus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physiol.) An instrument from tetanizing a muscle by irritating its nerve by successive mechanical shocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; stretched, &unr_; to stretch. ] 1. (Med.) A painful and usually fatal disease, resulting generally from a wound, and having as its principal symptom persistent spasm of the voluntary muscles. When the muscles of the lower jaw are affected, it is called locked-jaw, or lickjaw, and it takes various names from the various incurvations of the body resulting from the spasm. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) That condition of a muscle in which it is in a state of continued vibratory contraction, as when stimulated by a series of induction shocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) A morbid condition resembling tetanus, but distinguished from it by being less severe and having intermittent spasms. [ 1913 Webster ]