Meanings
- medicineAn abnormal gap between the abdominal muscles, sometimes caused by pregnancy or occurring in newborn children.
This woman had the most extreme diastasis recti abdominales.
1902 February 28, Byron Robinson, “Splanchnoptosis, Uterine Artery, Ureter”, in Minneapolis Homeopathic Magazine, volume 11, number 23 more examples
Abdominal hernia noticed (diastasis recti) coincidentally with exacerbation of abdominal and cerebral distress, requiring occasional narcotic.
1922 November 28, Henry J. Wolf, “Report and critical analysis of a long-standing case of intestinal spacticity, with observations on the beneficent use of atropine”, in The American Journal of Surgery, volume 36, page 276If not during pregnancy, a diastasis recti can instead develop during the second stage of labor, particularly if there is excessive breath holding during pushing. Consequently, the abdominal wall should be checked for diastasis recti post-partum.
2000, Rebecca Gourley Stephenson, Linda J. O'Connor, Obstetric and Gynecologic Care in Physical Therapy, page 267Diastasis recti is a common condition that can manifest postpartum or following abdominal surgery. It is characterized by a widening or separation of the rectus abdominis muscles along the linea alba and in severe cases the linea semilunares as well.
2017, William W. Hope, William S. Cobb, Gina L Adrales, Textbook of Hernia, page 316Synonyms: abdominal separation
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn abnormal gap between the abdominal muscles, sometimes caused by pregnancy or occurring in newborn children.
Cite this entry
diastasis recti. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastasis%20recti
“diastasis recti.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastasis%20recti. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diastasis recti,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastasis%20recti.
Source: diastasis recti on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.