·adj Of or pertaining to tetanus; having the character of tetanus; as, a tetanic state; tetanic contraction.
II. Tetanic ·adj Producing, or tending to produce, tetanus, or tonic contraction of the muscles; as, a tetanic remedy. ·see Tetanic, ·noun.
III. Tetanic ·noun A substance (notably nux vomica, strychnine, and brucine) which, either as a remedy or a poison, acts primarily on the spinal cord, and which, when taken in comparatively large quantity, produces tetanic spasms or convulsions.