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tenesmus

Syllabification: (te·nes·mus)
Pronunciation: /təˈnezməs/
Definition of tenesmus

noun

Medicine
  • a continual or recurrent inclination to evacuate the bowels, caused by disorder of the rectum or other illness.

Origin:

early 16th century: via medieval Latin from Greek teinesmos 'straining', from teinein 'stretch, strain'

tenesmus in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tenesmus in the British & World English dictionary

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