atony n : lack of normal muscular tension or tonus [syn: atonicity, atonia, amyotonia] [ant: tonicity]

English

Noun

1. Lack of muscle tone; flaccidity or atonia

In medicine, atony (or "atonia", or "atonic") refers to a muscle that has lost its strength. It is frequently associated with the conditions Atonic seizure, Atonic colon, Uterine atony, Gastrointestinal atony (occurs postoperatively) and choreatic atonia.

Atony can also refer to the paralyzed or extremely relaxed state of skeletal muscles in rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) in most warm-blooded animals.

See also

• Hypotonia
• Muscle weakness

adynamia, anemia, blah feeling, bloodlessness, cachexia, cachexy, cowardice, debilitation, debility, dullness, etiolation, faintness, fatigue, feebleness, flabbiness, flaccidity, impotence, languishment, languor, lassitude, listlessness, prostration, sluggishness, softness, strengthlessness, weakliness, weakness, weariness