stretch

stretch

severe passive or active extension of a limb or the trunk.

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stretch injury

commonly involves tendons and soft tissues surrounding a joint, particularly of the lower limbs. See dropped carpus.

stretch receptor

see receptor (2).

stretch relaxation

a not universally accepted characteristic of the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract; if the muscle tension is being maintained by regular neural discharge, a distention of the organ which stretches the wall may temporarily inhibit the nervous impulses so that the muscle relaxes and accommodates the new length of the muscle.