toxic shock syndrome: Meaning and Definition of

tox'ic shock' syn"drome

Pronunciation: [key]
— Pathol. Pathol.
  1. a rapidly developing, sometimes fatal infection characterized by sudden onset of fever, gastrointestinal upsets, a sunburnlike rash, and a drop in blood pressure: caused by a Staphylococcus aureus toxin and occurring esp. in menstruating women using high-absorbency tampons. Abbr.: TSS
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.