| 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) |
| nictitating spasm | Involuntary spasmodic winking. Synonym: spasmus nictitans, winking spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nodding spasm | In infants, a drop of the head on the chest due to loss of tone in the neck muscles as in epilepsia nutans, or to tonic spasm of anterior neck muscles as in West's syndrome, in adults, a nodding of the head from clonic spasm's of the sternomastoid muscles. Synonym: salaam attack, salaam spasm, spasmus nutans. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dancing spasm | A spasmodic affection of the muscles of the lower extremities. Synonym: Bamberger's disease, dancing spasm, Gowers disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| synclonic spasm | Clonic spasm of two or more muscles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| diffuse oesophageal spasm | A disorder characterised by episodic contractions of the oesophagus. The oesophageal spasms fail to effectively propel food to the stomach. Symptoms may be confused with angina. Common symptoms include chest pains, epigastric pain, heartburn, pain on swallowing and difficulty swallowing. Treatment includes the use of sublingual nitroglycerin and calcium channel blockers. (27 Sep 1997) |
| intention spasm | A spasmodic contraction of the muscles occurring when a voluntary movement is attempted. (05 Mar 2000) |
| occupational spasm | Professional spasm, obsolete term for occupational dystonia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oesophageal spasm | A disorder of the motility of the oesophagus characterised by pain or forceful eructations after swallowing food. Oesophageal muscle contractions are of excessive force and duration. Chest pain can be confused with symptoms of cardiac or other origin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oesophageal spasm, diffuse | A motor disorder of the oesophagus characterised by chest pain and dysphagia. Pathogenesis is unclear. Strong, nonpropulsive contractions of the oesophagus evoked by deglutition occur, especially in the elderly. (12 Dec 1998) |
| tailor's spasm | An occupational dystonia affecting the forearms and hands of tailors. Synonym: tailor's spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tonic spasm | A continuous involuntary muscular contraction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tonoclonic spasm | Convulsive contraction of muscles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| torsion spasm | <clinical sign, neurology> Disordered tonicity of muscle. Origin: Gr. Tonos (18 Nov 1997) |