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Definition of: tetanus
(tet′ə·nəs) noun
1. Pathol. An acute infectious disease caused by a bacillus (Clostridium tetani) and characterized by rigid spasmodic contraction of various voluntary muscles, especially that form affecting the muscles of the jaw, called lockjaw.
2. Physiol. A state of contraction in a muscle excited by a rapid series of shocks. [<L <Gk. tetanos spasm <teinein stretch]
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