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  1. peristalsis love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. The wavelike muscular contractions of the alimentary canal or other tubular structures by which contents are forced onward toward the opening.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The peculiar involuntary muscular movements of various hollow organs of the body, especially of the alimentary canal, whereby their contents are propelled onward. As best seen in the small intestines, it consists of rhythmic circular contractions, traveling, wave-like, downward, due to successive contractions of the circular and longitudinal muscular fibers. Peristalsis, simple or modified, is characteristic of the whole alimentary canal, from the beginning of the esophagus to the anus, but it also occurs in other tubes or cavities, as the ureters, Fallopian tubes, etc.

Wiktionary

  1. n. medicine The rhythmic, wave-like contraction of the digestive tract that forces food through it.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Physiol.) Peristaltic contraction or action.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. the process of wavelike muscle contractions of the alimentary tract that moves food along

Etymologies

  1. From Ancient Greek περισταλτικός δύναμις ("peristaltic action of the bowels, by which their contents are propelled"), from περιστέλλω ("wrap around"), from περί ("around") + στέλλω ("I place"). (Wiktionary)
  2. New Latin, from Greek peristaltikos, peristaltic, from peristellein, to wrap around : peri-, peri- + stellein, to place; see stel- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The oral administration of activated charcoal may effectively prevent systemic absorption of the combination for several hours after ingestion due to delayed gastric emptying and decreased peristalsis from the opiate and glutethimide combination.”

    Loads

  • “This increases the minute muscle contractions, also called peristalsis, necessary for good elimination.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Fiber35 Diet

  • “It is this rolling or pushing motion, called peristalsis, that facilitates elimination through the colon.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Fiber35 Diet

  • “Not through gravity or little food-carrying gremlins but through a process called peristalsis—a rhythmic contraction of smooth muscle in your gut that moves the lump of food the bolus down through the esophagus and into the intestines.”

    Simon & Schuster: You Staying Young

  • “Even when empty, our stomach - our entire digestive tract, in fact - makes a wavelike muscular contraction called peristalsis.”

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed

  • “Anthraquinones trigger contractions in the colon, called peristalsis, which causes the urge to have a bowel movement.”

    Wil's Ebay E-Store

  • “The theme of futility/stasis also winds around the harmony vocals and discrete keys of the mid-tempo "The Ouroborus," which is the name for the symbol of a snake eating its tail (always a brainy, wordy lyricist, Jamison is the rare songwriter capable of using a term such as "peristalsis" and making it work).”

    Baltimore City Paper

  • “The multiple wire-braided construction is engineered to allow the stent to adjust to forces within the esophagus such as peristalsis (involuntary contractions) and strictures.”

    Medindia Health News

  • “Hirschsprung's disease, which affects peristalsis, the muscular movement that propels food through the intestine.”

    Diagnosing and treating pediatric anorectal continence

  • “Do you recall the crazy event that isn't documented in that link when Bush/Quayle came to Portland and the "reverse peristalsis painters" vomited red/white/blue mashed potatoes in Pioneer Square?”

    Malcolm on the mall (Jack Bog's Blog)

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hypernyms (4)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. bodily function
  1. bodily process
  1. body process
  1. activity

same context (22)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. sanguification
  2. alvine
  3. manometry
  4. excoriation
  1. undercroft
  2. questing
  3. microflora
  4. submucosa
  1. flagella
  2. obst
  3. regurgitation
  4. persistance
  1. superbug
  2. deglutition
  3. tonus
  4. motility
  1. contractility
  2. villi
  3. cecum
  4. transcriptase
  1. bronchoconstriction
  2. expectoration

reverse dictionary (8)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. peristaltic
  1. hyperperistalsis
  1. lientery
  1. vermiculation
  1. fiber
  1. roughage
  1. anastalsis
  1. cholagogue

tags (1)

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  1. digestion

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‘peristalsis’ has been looked up 3189 times, loved by 2 people, added to 29 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 13.