‖ opisthotonos Path.
(ɒpɪsˈθɒtənɒs)
Also -us.
[Gr. ὀπισθότονος drawn backwards, f. opistho- + -τονος stretched, stretching, τείνειν to stretch.]
Spasm of the muscles of the neck, back, and legs, in which the body is bent backwards; a form of tetanus.
| 1657 Physical Dict., Opisthotones. 1706 Phillips, Opisthotonus, a kind of Cramp or stretching of the Muscles of the Neck backwards. 1807 Med. Jrnl. XVII. 213 A universal rigidity of the dorsal muscles..with a strong retraction of the head, assuming the marks of a true opisthotonos. 1860 H. Spencer Phys. Laughter Ess. 1891 II. 460 The head is thrown back and the spine bent inwards; there is a slight degree of what medical men call opisthotonos. |