Tetanus

Quick meaning: Tetanus is a noun meaning (pathology, usually uncountable) A serious and often fatal disease caused by the infection of an open wound with the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, found in soil and the intestines and faeces of animals.

Meaning

(pathology, usually uncountable) A serious and often fatal disease caused by the infection of an open wound with the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, found in soil and the intestines and faeces of animals.

More Meanings

1. (physiology, countable) A state of muscle tension caused by sustained contraction arising from a rapid series of nerve impulses which do not allow the muscle to relax.

Example Sentences

We first saturated LTP in one pathway by applying repetitive tetani that had no effect on the control pathway […]

Compared to 290 children with TQQ negative, CWDs were significantly less likely to receive antenatal care (P=0.003), to get a maternal tetanus shot during antenatal care (P=0.004) and to receive full vaccination (P=0.01).

Word Forms

• tetani
• tetanuses

Synonyms for tetanus

Depending on context, synonyms include lockjaw.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include lockjaw, vaccination, toxoid, antitoxin, tetanic, pertussis.

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