TENESMUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tenesmus mean? 

• TENESMUS (noun)
  The noun TENESMUS has 1 sense:

1. painful spasm of the anal sphincter along with an urgent desire to defecate without the significant production of feces; associated with irritable bowel syndrome

  Familiarity information: TENESMUS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TENESMUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Painful spasm of the anal sphincter along with an urgent desire to defecate without the significant production of feces; associated with irritable bowel syndrome

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("tenesmus" is a kind of...):

cramp; muscle spasm; spasm (a painful and involuntary muscular contraction)

 Context examples 

Clinical presentation includes rectal bleeding, tenesmus, pain, and change in bowel habit.

(Anal Margin Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)