-tetanus-

‖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 ]