Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The wavelike muscular contractions of the digestive tract or other tubular structures by which contents are forced onward toward the opening.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The peculiar involuntary muscular movements of various hollow organs of the body, especially of the alimentary canal, whereby their contents are propelled onward.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Physiol.) Peristaltic contraction or action.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the process of wavelike muscle contractions of the alimentary tract that moves food along

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Greek peristaltikos, peristaltic, from peristellein, to wrap around : peri-, peri- + stellein, to place; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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").

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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 2010

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

    The Fiber35 Diet Brenda Watson with Leonard Smith 2007

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

    The Fiber35 Diet Brenda Watson with Leonard Smith 2007

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

    The Fiber35 Diet Brenda Watson with Leonard Smith 2007

  • 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.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

  • 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.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

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

    The Fiber35 Diet Brenda Watson with Leonard Smith 2007

  • 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.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

  • 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 MICHAEL KESTERTON 2012

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

    Wil's Ebay E-Store amp;34; 2010

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