tenesmus Hear it!

tenesmus definition

te·nes·mus (ti nez′məs, -nes′-)

noun

Med. a feeling of urgent need to defecate or urinate, with a straining but unsuccessful effort to do so

Etymology: ML < L tenesmos < Gr teinesmos < teinein, to stretch: see thin

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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