pudendal

views updated

pudendal (pew-den-d'l) adj. relating to the pudendum. p. block anaesthesia of the pudendum and surrounding areas by injecting a local anaesthetic into the nerves that supply them. It is performed to relieve the pain of the expulsive stage of labour. See also nerve block. p. nerve the nerve that supplies the lowest muscles of the pelvic floor and the anal sphincter. It is often damaged in childbirth, causing incontinence.

More From encyclopedia.com