Spasm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ICD-10 | R25.2 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 728.85 |
A spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of pain, but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. Spasmodic muscle contraction may also be due to a large number of medical conditions, however, including the dystonias.
By extension, a spasm is also a sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.
A subtype of spasms is colic, an episodic pain due to spasms of smooth muscle in a particular organ (e.g. the bile duct). A characteristic of colic is the sensation of having to move about, and the pain may induce nausea or vomiting if severe. Series of spasms or permanent spasms are called a spasmism.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
 |
This medical sign article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
