| 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) |
| anorectal spasm | Painful spasm of the muscle about the anus without known cause; probably a neurosis. Synonym: anorectal spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| Bell's spasm | Involuntary twitching of the facial muscles, sometimes unilateral. Synonym: Bell's spasm, convulsive tic, facial spasm, histrionic spasm, mimic convulsion, mimic spasm, mimic tic, palmus, prosopospasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bronchial spasm | Spasmodic contraction of the smooth muscle of the bronchi. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cadaveric spasm | Rigor mortis occurring irregularly in the different muscles, causing movements of the limbs. (05 Mar 2000) |
| canine spasm | The semblance of a grin caused by facial spasm especially in tetanus. Synonym: canine spasm, cynic spasm, risus sardonicus, sardonic grin, spasmus caninus, trismus sardonicus. Origin: L. Risus, laugh + caninus, doglike (05 Mar 2000) |
| vasomotor spasm | Spasmodic contraction of the smaller arteries. (05 Mar 2000) |
| carpopedal spasm | <clinical sign> Spasms of the hands or feet that may be seen in association with hypocalcaemia or hyperventilation. (08 Jan 1998) |
| masticatory spasm | Involuntary convulsive muscular contraction affecting the muscles of mastication. (05 Mar 2000) |
| retrocollic spasm | Torticollis in which the spasm affects the posterior neck muscles. Synonym: retrocollis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rotatory spasm | 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) |
| phonic spasm | A spasmodic contraction of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx excited by attempted phonation, producing either adductor or abductor subtypes caused by central nervous system disease. A localised form of movement disorder. Synonym: phonic spasm, spastic dysphonia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mimic spasm | <neurology> A repetitive spasmodic movement of the eyes or facial muscles. May also involve the neck or shoulders. Tics are most common in children. The cause is unknown but may be linked to stress. Tics are more common in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disease. Most tics require no treatment and resolve on their own with patient education. (12 Jan 1998) |
| clonic spasm | Alternate involuntary contraction and relaxation of a muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mobile spasm | A tonic spasm occurring in spastic infantile hemiplegia on attempted movement. (05 Mar 2000) |
| winking spasm | Involuntary spasmodic winking. Synonym: spasmus nictitans, winking spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |