a. [ad. L. tympanīticus, f. tympanītēs: see prec. and -IC. So Pg. tymp-, Sp. and It. timpanitico.] Pertaining to, characteristic of, or affected with tympanites. Tympanitic note, resonance, or sound, a sound somewhat like that of a drum produced by percussion over the abdomen or other part when distended with gas or air.
1834. J. Forbes, Laennec’s Dis. Chest (ed. 4), 481. Some … were of opinion that the … tympanitic resonance, on percussion, is of itself sufficient to point out pneumothorax.
1843. R. J. Graves, Syst. Clin. Med., xiii. 142. His tongue was black and parched, his belly tympanitic.
1853. Markham, Skoda’s Auscult., etc., 255. The percussion sound of the abdomen … being at one time distinctly tympanitic and clear, at another indistinct.
1860. Tanner, Pregnancy, ii. 67. Tympanitic distension of the intestines.
1899. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., VII. 644. A tympanitic note on skull-percussion is suggestive that the abscess is situated in the cerebellum.
b. Giving a tympanitic sound.
1900. Jrnl. Exp. Med., 25 Oct., 140. The skin and subcutaneous tissues of the face, neck and chest were markedly swollen, and tympanitic on percussion.
So † Tympanitical a. Obs. (in quot. 1772 fig.; cf. TYMPANY 2).
1656. Blount, Glossogr., Tympanitical, that hath a Tympany or dropsy.
1772. Nugent, trans. Hist. Friar Gerund, II. 202. Filling it with airy conceits, tympanitical thoughts,… and fantastical dissertations.
