a. (Med.) Opposed to, or checking motion; acting upward; -- applied to an inverted action of the intestinal tube. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; clasping and compressing, fr. &unr_; to surround, wrap up; &unr_; round + &unr_; to place, arrange: cf. F. péristaltique. ] (Physiol.) Pertaining to a wormlike wave motion of the intestines, and by analogy, of other flexible tubular structures. In the body it is produced by a progressive contraction of the muscular fibers of their walls, forcing their contents onwards in the direction of the wave; as, peristaltic movement. -- Per`i*stal"tic*al*ly adv. [1913 Webster]