| spasm | 1. <physiology> A sudden, violent, involuntary contraction of a muscle or a group of muscles, attended by pain and interference with function, producing involuntary movement and distortion. 2. A sudden but transitory constriction of a passage, canal or orifice. Origin: L. Spasmus, Gr. Spasmos (18 Nov 1997) |
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| spasm of accommodation | Excessive contraction of the ciliary muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmin | <protein> Protein (20 kD) that forms the spasmoneme. Thought to change its shape when the calcium ion concentration rises and to revert when the calcium concentration falls: the reversible shape change is used as a motor mechanism. Contraction does not require ATP, relaxation does, probably to pump calcium ions back into the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. (13 Nov 1997) |
| spasmo- | Spasm. Origin: G. Spasmos (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmocanulase | <chemical> Contains methixene, dimethylpolysiloxane, cellulose, pepsin, glutamic acid, pancreatin, and sodium dehydrocholate Pharmacological action: parasympatholytic Chemical name: d-glutamic acid, hydrochloride, mixt. With cellulose, dimethicone, 1-methyl-3-(9h-thioxanthen-9-ylmethyl)piperidine hydrochloride, pancreatin, pepsin a and sodium (5beta)-3,7,12-trioxocholan-24-oate (26 Jun 1999) |
| spasmodic | Of the nature of a spasm. Origin: Gr. Spasmodes (18 Nov 1997) |
| spasmodic asthma | Asthma due to spasm of the bronchioles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmodic dysmenorrhoea | Dysmenorrhoea accompanied by painful contractions of the uterus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmodic dysphonia | Involves the muscles of the throat that control speech. Also called spastic dysphonia or laryngeal dystonia, it causes strained and difficult speaking or breathy and effortful speech. (12 Dec 1998) |
| spasmodic laryngitis | Catarrhal inflammation of the larynx in children, accompanied by night attacks of spasmodic closure of the glottis, causing inspiratory stridor. Synonym: spasmodic laryngitis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmodic stricture | A stricture due to localised spasm of muscular fibres in the wall of the canal. Synonym: functional stricture, temporary stricture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmodic tic | A disorder in which sudden spasmodic coordinated movements of certain muscles or groups of physiologically related muscles occur at irregular intervals. Synonym: Henoch's chorea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmodic torticollis | A disorder of unknown cause, manifested as a restricted dystonia, localised to some of the neck muscles, especially the sternomastoid and trapezius; occurs in adults and tends to progress slowly; the head movements increase with standing and walking and decrease with contractual stimuli, e.g., touching the chin or neck. Synonym: dystonic torticollis, rotatory spasm, rotatory tic. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmogen | A substance causing contraction of smooth muscle; e.g., histamine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spasmogenic | Causing spasms. Origin: spasmo-+ G. -gen, producing (05 Mar 2000) |