Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Alternately contracting and dilating, as the heart; pulsating.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Alternately contracting and dilating; capable of or resulting from systole and diastole; pulsatory: as, the systaltic action of the heart. Compare peristaltic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Physiol.) Capable of, or taking place by, alternate contraction and dilatation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective biology Capable of, or taking place by, alternate contraction and dilatation.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin systalticus, from Greek sustaltikos, from sustellein, to contract : sun-, syn- + stellein, to send; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin systalticus drawing together, from Ancient Greek. Compare sustaltic, systole.

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Examples

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  • Alternately contracting and dilating; pulsating. (from Phrontistery)

    May 23, 2008