Hypertext Webster Gateway: "spasm"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Spasm \Spasm\, n. [F. spasme, L. spasmus, Gr. ?, from ?, ?, to
draw, to cause convulsion. Cf. {Span}, v. t.]
1. (Med.) An involuntary and unnatural contraction of one or
more muscles or muscular fibers.
Note: Spasm are usually either clonic or tonic. In clonic
spasm, the muscles or muscular fibers contract and
relax alternately in very quick succession. In tonic
spasm, the contraction is steady and uniform, and
continues for a comparatively long time, as in tetanus.
2. A sudden, violent, and temporary effort or emotion; as, a
spasm of repentance.
{Cynic spasm} (Med.) See under {Cynic}.
{Spasm of the chest}. See {Angina pectoris}, under {Angina}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
spasm
n 1: a painful and involuntary muscular contraction [syn: {cramp},
{muscle spasm}]
2: (pathology) sudden constriction of a hollow organ (as a
blood vessel)
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