/ English Dictionary

MUSCULAR CONTRACTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)

Synonyms:

contraction; muscle contraction; muscular contraction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("muscular contraction" is a kind of...):

shortening (act of decreasing in length)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "muscular contraction"):

contracture (an abnormal and usually permanent contraction of a muscle)

tetanus (a sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulses)

uterine contraction (a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal)

Braxton-Hicks contraction; false labor (painless contractions of the muscles of the uterus that continue throughout pregnancy with increasing frequency)

vaginismus (muscular contraction that causes the vagina to close; usually an anxiety reaction before coitus or pelvic examination)

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