Word Finder - tetanus

definition

A serious and often fatal disease caused by the infection of an open wound with the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, found in soil and the intestines and faeces of animals.

definition

A state of muscle tension caused by sustained contraction arising from a rapid series of nerve impulses which do not allow the muscle to relax.

Toxins may thus become so closely keyed into their corresponding atom groups, as for instance in tetanus, that they are no longer free to combine with the antitoxin; or, again, an antitoxin injected before a toxin may anticipate it and, preventing its mischievous adhesion, dismiss it for excretion.

It has undoubtedly been of value in many cases of tetanus, in which it must be given in maximal doses.

They also expressed the opinion that carbolic acid was a valuable agent in restraining tetanus growth when added to plague prophylactic, ' and they, therefore, thought that its omission was a grave mistake.

The effects of many of these toxins bear a close resemblance to the action of certain wellknown drugs, as in the case of tetanus toxin and strychnine, and are studied by the same methods of observation and research.

Such serums are injected subcutaneously in diphtheria, tetanus, streptococcic infections, plague, snake-poisoning, cholera and other similar diseases.

Amongst these may be mentioned the neutralizing of the toxins in cases of diphtheria, tetanus and poisonous snake-bite; " serum therapeutics "; and treatment by " vaccines."

Of such are tetanus and diphtheria, now known to be due to the establishment from without of a local microbic infection, from which focus a toxin is diffused to the nervous matter.

Tetanus resembles strychnine poisoning, but the development of the symptoms in tetanus is usually much slower, death rarely occurring within 24 hours.

In strychnine poisoning trismus or lockjaw is generally secondary to spasm of the other muscles, while in tetanus it is usually the first symptom, no relaxation taking place between the spasms.

On the 6th of November 1902, nineteen persons who had been inoculated on the 30th of October in the village of Malkowal from a single bottle (labelled 53-n) of the new fluid were found to be suffering from tetanus, and all of them subsequently died.

They found that the germ of tetanus had been introduced into the fluid before the bottle was opened at Malkowal, and they thought it probable that this might have occurred owing either to insufficient sterilization or to the process of filling the bottle from a larger flask having been performed with defective precautions.

The evidence showed that it had been much too readily believed that the tetanus germs had entered the fluid before the bottle was opened, and that a grave injustice had been done to Mr Haffkine.

Thus the organisms of suppuration, tubercle, glanders, diphtheria, typhoid fever, cholera, tetanus, and others were identified, and their relationship to the individual diseases established.

A later research by Brieger along with Fraenkel pointed to the extracellular toxins of diphtheria, tetanus and other diseases being of proteid nature, and various other observers have arrived at a like conclusion.

Thus in cholera the bacteria are practically confined to the intestine, in diphtheria to the region of the false membrane, in tetanus to some wound.

In the lastmentioned disease even the local multiplication depends upon the presence of other bacteria, as the tetanus bacillus has practically no power of multiplying in the healthy tissues when introduced alone.

Thus in diphtheria changes in both nerve cells and nerve fibres have been found, and in tetanus minute alterations in the nucleus and protoplasm of nerve cells.

Wassermann and Takaki in the case of tetanus, that there do exist in the nervous system molecules with combining affinity for the tetanus toxin.

If, for example, the brain and spinal cord removed from an animal be bruised and brought into contact with tetanus toxin, a certain amount of the toxicity disappears, as shown by injecting the mixture into another animal.

Further, these molecules in the nervous system present the same susceptibility to heat and other physical agencies as does tetanus antitoxin.

Natural immunity against toxins must be taken into account, and, if Ehrlich's view with regard to toxic action be correct, this may depend upon either the absence of chemical affinity of the living molecules of the tissues for the toxic molecule, or upon insensitiveness to the action of the toxophorous group. It has been shown with regard to the former, for example, that the nervous system of the fowl, which possesses immunity against tetanus toxin, has little combining affinity for it.

The only animal life reported from the lake has been some tetanus and other bacilli said to have been found in its mud; but this discovery has not been confirmed.

You have not had a tetanus shot for a while.

Immunizations, including tetanus boosters, should be current, and taking a regular multivitamin is a wise way to ensure good cruise travel health.

Students have to provide proof that they have been vaccinated against tetanus prior to starting classes.

When you do get to witness what the PSP is pushing you'll find heavily detailed bad guys, desks with calendars, really rusty barrels (bring your Tetanus) and other richly polygonal landscapes and items.

Puncture wounds may require a tetanus shot to prevent serious infection.

Vaccinations are an effective method of preventing certain disease such as polio, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, influenza, hepatitis b, and pneumococcal infections.

The vaccine used in the United States is actually multiple diphtheria and tetanus toxoids combined with acellular pertussis (DTaP).

Tetanus, sometimes called lockjaw, is a disease caused by the toxin of Clostridium tetani.

Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis, taken together, provides immunity against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough.

Children with diabetes or cancer who have not had a tetanus shot in five years or who have a medical problem that can increase susceptibility to infection should seek medical treatment no matter how minor the bite appears.

Removal of dead and damaged tissue (under local, regional, or general anesthetic) may be required after the wound has been washed, and any child whose tetanus shots are not up-to-date should receive a booster injection.

The child's record of tetanus immunization and general health status are checked.

The doctor will make sure that the patient is immunized against tetanus, which is routine procedure for any open wound.

Vaccinating a pregnant woman with tetanus toxoid can prevent tetanus in the baby at birth.

Possible causes include stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, neurodegenerative diseases, trauma, spinal cord injury, and nervous system poisons such as strychnine, tetanus, and certain insecticides.

Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a serious disease of the nervous system that can cause uncontrolled muscle spasms and death.

Tetanus occurs when the body is infected with spores of the bacterium C. tetani.

The bacteria that cause tetanus enter the body through a scrape, cut, or wound, in about 70 percent of cases.

In developing countries, newborns often contract tetanus from contaminated instruments used to tie off the umbilical cord after birth.

Any time between two and 50 days later (most commonly between days seven and 21 days), the individual begins to show the signs of tetanus.

With almost universal vaccination starting in the 1940s, tetanus has become rare in the United States.

The first sign of tetanus is a tightening of the jaw muscles that gives the disease its common name, lockjaw.

Tetanus is a medical emergency, and individuals should be taken to the emergency room as soon as symptoms are noticed.

About 75 percent of individuals with tetanus are first seen by a dentist or oral surgeon for pain and stiffness in the jaw and mouth region.

Diagnosis of tetanus is based on presenting symptoms rather than laboratory tests.

This is done with injections of human tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG).

Contracting tetanus does not provide immunity against future infections, so tetanus immunizations are also given.

Tetanus is completely preventable by immunization.