tympanitic, a.
(tɪmpəˈnɪtɪk)
[ad. L. tympanīticus, f. tympanītēs: see prec. and -ic. So Pg. tymp-, Sp. and It. timpanitico.]
Pertaining to, characteristic of, or affected with tympanites. tympanitic note, tympanitic resonance, or tympanitic sound, a sound somewhat like that of a drum produced by percussion over the abdomen or other part when distended with gas or air.
| 1834 J. Forbes Laennec's Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 481 Some..were of opinion that the..tympanitic resonance, on percussion, is of itself sufficient to point out pneumothorax. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiii. 142 His tongue was black and parched, his belly tympanitic. 1853 Markham Skoda's Auscult., etc. 255 The percussion-sound of the abdomen..being at one time distinctly tympanitic and clear, at another indistinct. 1860 Tanner Pregnancy ii. 67 Tympanitic distension of the intestines. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 644 A tympanitic note on skull-percussion is suggestive that the abscess is situated in the cerebellum. |
b. Giving a tympanitic sound.
| 1900 Jrnl. Exp. Med. 25 Oct. 140 The skin and subcutaneous tissues of the face, neck and chest were markedly swollen, and tympanitic on percussion. |
So † tympaˈnitical a. Obs. (in quot. 1772 fig.; cf. tympany 2).
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Tympanitical, that hath a Tympany or dropsy. 1772 Nugent tr. Hist. Friar Gerund II. 202 Filling it with airy conceits, tympanitical thoughts,..and fantastical dissertations. |