| AION | anterior ischemic optic neuropathy |
|---|---|
| AN | acanthosis nigricans; acne neonatorum; acoustic neuroma; adult, normal; ala nasi; amyl nitrate; aneu... |
| BPN | bacitracin, polymyxin B, neomycin sulfate; brachial plexus neuropathy |
| CSNA | congenital sensory neuropathy with anhidrosis [syndrome] |
| DN | Deiter's nucleus; dextrose-nitrogen; diabetic neuropathy; dibucaine number; dicrotic notch; dinitroc... |
| onion bulb neuropathy | Designation for any of several demyelinating polyneuropathies in which the nerves are enlarged, due to onion bulb formation-whorls of overlapping Schwann cell processes encircling bare medullated axons, e.g., progressive hypertrophic polyneuropathy. See: hypertrophic interstitial neuropathy. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| optic neuropathy, ischemic | A severely blinding disease resulting from loss of the arterial blood supply to the optic nerve as a result of occlusive disorders of the nutrient arteries. Optic neuropathy is divided into anterior, which causes a pale oedema of the optic disk, and posterior, in which the optic disk is not swollen and the abnormality occurs between the globe and the optic chiasm. Ischemic anterior optic neuropathy usually causes a loss of vision that may be sudden or occur over several days; ischemic posterior optic neuropathy is uncommon and the diagnosis depends largely upon exclusion of other causes, chiefly stroke and brain tumour. (12 Dec 1998) |
| entrapment neuropathy | A focal nerve lesion produced by constriction or mechanical distortion of the nerve, within a fibrous or fibro-osseous tunnel, or by a fibrous band; with these lesions, stretching and angulation of the nerve may be as important a source of injury as compression; entrapment neuropathies tend to occur at particular sites in the body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| familial amyloid neuropathy | <neurology> A disorder in which various peripheral nerves are infiltrated with amyloid and their functions disturbed, an abnormal prealbumin is also formed and is present in the blood; characteristically, it begins during mid-life and is found largely in persons of Portuguese descent. Other rare clinical types occur. Inheritance: autosomal dominant. Synonym: familial amyloidosis, hereditary amyloidosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lead neuropathy | A peripheral neuropathy reportedly seen in chronic lead intoxication; reputedly characterised by wrist-drop, but no convincing modern reports of this are available. (05 Mar 2000) |
| leprous neuropathy | A slowly developing granulomatous neuropathy, commonly seen in leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. (05 Mar 2000) |
| benign giant lymph node hyperplasia | Solitary masses of lymphoid tissue containing concentric perivascular aggregates of lymphocytes, occurring usually in the mediastinum or hilar region of young adults; similar changes have been reported outside the mediastinum and, if associated with interfollicular sheets of plasma cells, may progress to lymphoma or plasmacytoma. Synonym: angiofollicular mediastinal lymph node hyperplasia, Castleman's disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| carcinoma, giant cell | An epithelial neoplasm characterised by unusually large anaplastic cells. It is highly malignant with fulminant clinical course, bizarre histologic appearance and poor prognosis. It is most common in the lung and thyroid. (12 Dec 1998) |
| malignant giant cell tumour | A type of bone tumour. (12 Dec 1998) |
| giant | 1. A man of extraordinari bulk and stature. "Giants of mighty bone and bold emprise." 2. A person of extraordinary strength or powers, bodily or intellectual. 3. Any animal, plant, or thing, of extraordinary size or power. Giant's Causeway, a vast collection of basaltic pillars, in the county of Antrim on the northern coast of Ireland. Origin: OE. Giant, geant, geaunt, OF. Jaiant, geant, F. Geant, L. Gigas, fr. Gr, from the root of E. Gender, genesis. See Gender, and cf. Gigantic. Like a giant; extraordinary in size, strength, or power; as, giant brothers; a giant son. Giant cell. <anatomy> A very large African heron (Ardeomega goliath). It is the largest heron known. Giant kettle, a pothole of very large dimensions, as found in Norway in connection with glaciers. See Pothole. Giant powder. See Nitroglycerin. <botany> Giant puffball, one of several species of very large squids, belonging to Architeuthis and allied genera. Some are over forty feet long. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| giant axon | <biology> Extraordinarily large unmyelinated axons found in invertebrates. Some, like the squid giant axon, can approach 1 mm diameter. Large axons have high conduction speeds, the giant axons are invariably involved in panic or escape responses and may (e.g. Crayfish) have electrical synapses to further increase speed. Vertebrate axons with high conduction velocites are much narrower: they are myelinated, allowing saltatory conduction. (17 Dec 1997) |
| giant cell | <pathology> A cell of large size, often with many nuclei. They are multinucleated masses produced by the fusion of many cells. They are often associated with viral infections. In AIDS, they are induced when the envelope glycoprotein of HIV binds to the CD4 antigen of uninfected neighboring T4 cells. The resulting syncytium leads to cell death and thus may account for the cytopathic effect of the virus. (18 Jul 2002) |
| giant cell aortitis | <pathology> Giant cell arteritis involving the aorta. (05 Mar 2000) |
| giant cell arteritis | <pathology> An inflammatory condition of the temporal artery. It is a serious chronic vascular disease, characterised by inflammation of the walls of the blood vessels (vasculitis). The age of affected patients is usually over 50 years of age. It most often involves the carotid artery system, and can lead to blindness or stroke. It can be diagnosed by biopsy of an artery, but there is often a false negative result. Elevation of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is typical. Treatment is with high dose steroids. Common symptoms include headaches and tenderness over the temple (temporal artery). Can be associated with polymyalgia rheumatica. See: polymyalgia rheumatica. Synonym: cranial arteritis, temporal arteritis (20 Jun 2000) |
| giant cell astrocytoma | <radiology> Malignant transformation from hamartoma (tuber) of tuberous sclerosis, enhances (unlike benign lesions), arises only about foramen of Monro, not really an astrocytoma, it's a giant-cell tumour (12 Dec 1998) |