Noun | 1. | ![]() symptom - (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease charley horse, charley-horse - a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise graphospasm, writer's cramp - muscular spasms of thumb and forefinger while writing with a pen or pencil blepharospasm - spasm of the eyelid muscle resulting in closure of the eye crick, kink, rick, wrick - a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (`rick' and `wrick' are British) myoclonus - a clonic spasm of a muscle or muscle group twitch, twitching, vellication - a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition tenesmus - painful spasm of the anal sphincter along with an urgent desire to defecate without the significant production of feces; associated with irritable bowel syndrome trismus - prolonged spasm of the jaw muscles |
2. | spasm - (pathology) sudden constriction of a hollow organ (as a blood vessel) bronchospasm - a spasm of the bronchi that makes exhalation difficult and noisy; associated with asthma and bronchitis cardiospasm - a spasm of the cardiac sphincter (between the esophagus and the stomach); if the cardiac sphincter does not relax during swallowing the passage of food into the stomach is obstructed laryngismus - laryngeal spasm caused by the sudden contraction of laryngeal muscles constriction - the action or process of compressing pathology - the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases |