'Tetanus' definitions:

Definition of 'tetanus'

From: WordNet
noun
An acute and serious infection of the central nervous system caused by bacterial infection of open wounds; spasms of the jaw and laryngeal muscles may occur during the late stages [syn: tetanus, lockjaw]
noun
A sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulses

Definition of 'Tetanus'

From: GCIDE
  • Tetanus \Tet"a*nus\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? stretched, ? to stretch.]
  • 1. (Med.) A painful and usually fatal disease, resulting generally from a wound, and having as its principal symptom persistent spasm of the voluntary muscles. When the muscles of the lower jaw are affected, it is called locked-jaw, or lickjaw, and it takes various names from the various incurvations of the body resulting from the spasm. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Physiol.) That condition of a muscle in which it is in a state of continued vibratory contraction, as when stimulated by a series of induction shocks. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'tetanus'

From: Moby Thesaurus