atony
/'ætəni/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Lack of normal muscular tension or tonus: A state characterized by the absence or significant reduction of the normal slight, continuous contraction present in healthy muscle tissue, leading to flaccidity or weakness.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The patient's prolonged bed rest resulted in muscular atony.
- Atony of the bladder can lead to urinary retention.
Advanced Usage
- Medical Context: The term is primarily used in medical and physiological contexts to describe a loss of tone in smooth muscle (e.g., in the uterus, intestines, or bladder) or skeletal muscle.
- Uterine atony is a serious condition after childbirth where the womb fails to contract.
- Figurative/Literary Use: Rarely, it can be used figuratively to describe a lack of energy or vigor in a non-physical sense.
- A strange atony had settled over the committee, stifling all initiative.
Variants and Related Words
- Atonic (adj): Pertaining to or characterized by atony; lacking stress or accent in linguistics.
- The atonic syllable is pronounced without emphasis.
- Atonia: A synonym, often used interchangeably with "atony."
- Hypotonia: A related term meaning diminished muscle tone, often used in similar but not always identical contexts.
Synonyms
- Flaccidity: The state of being soft and limp, often due to lack of muscle tone.
- Laxity: Lack of strictness or firmness; in a medical sense, looseness.
- Debility: Physical weakness, especially as a result of illness.
Antonyms
- Tone: The normal state of tension or firmness in resting muscles.
- Tonicity: The normal elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc.
- Rigidity: Inability to bend or be forced out of shape; stiffness (though this can be an opposite extreme).
Related Phrases/Idioms
Noun
- lack of normal muscular tension or tonus