tetanus

1. (pathology, usually uncountable) 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.Examples: "Compared to 290 children with TQQ negative, CWDs were significantly less likely to receive antenatal care (P=0.003), to get a maternal tetanus shot during antenatal care (P=0.004) and to receive full vaccination (P=0.01)."Synonyms: lockjawuncountableusually

2. (physiology, countable) 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.Examples: "We first saturated LTP in one pathway by applying repetitive tetani that had no effect on the control pathway […]"countableusually