| PCA | para-chloramphetamine; parietal cell antibody; passive cutaneous anaphylaxis; patient care assistant... |
|---|---|
| PCL | pacing cycle length; persistent corpus luteum; plasma cell leukemia; posterior chamber lens; posteri... |
| PD | Doctor of Pharmacy; Dublin Pharmacopoeia; interpupillary distance; Paget disease; pancreatic duct; p... |
| PICA | percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; Porch Index of Communicative Abilities; posterior in... |
| PP | diphosphate group; emphysema [pink puffers]; near point of accommodation [Lat. punctum proximum]; pa... |
| neuropathy | <clinical sign> A general term denoting functional disturbances and/or pathological changes in the peripheral nervous system. If the involvement is in one nerve it is called mononeuropathy, in several nerves, mononeuropathy multiplex, if diffuse and bilateral, polyneuropathy. The aetiology may be known for example arsenical neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, ischaemic neuropathy, traumatic neuropathy) or unknown. Encephalopathy and myelopathy are corresponding terms relating to involvement of the brain and spinal cord, respectively. The term is also used to designate noninflammatory lesions in the peripheral nervous system, in contrast to inflammatory lesions (neuritis). Origin: Gr. Pathos = disease (18 Nov 1997) |
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| dapsone neuropathy | A peripheral neuropathy that develops in patients taking dapsone (4,4-diaminodiphenylsulfone); unusual features include being a pure motor neuropathy, and beginning in the hands, sometimes asymmetrically. (05 Mar 2000) |
| symmetric distal neuropathy | <neurology> A disease process involving a number of peripheral nerves. Origin: Gr. Pathos = disease (14 Oct 1997) |
| diabetic neuropathy | <neurology, pathology> Long standing or poorly controlled diabetes can cause permanent peripheral and autonomic nerve dysfunction known as diabetic neuropathy. Origin: Gr. Pathos = disease (27 Sep 1997) |
| diphtheritic neuropathy | A rapidly developing peripheral neuropathy caused by a toxin elaborated by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. (05 Mar 2000) |
| isoniazid neuropathy | An axonal form of neuropathy seen in some patients treated with isoniazid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| axis, optic | <microscopy> The direction, or directions in an anisotropic crystal along which light is not doubly refracted. (05 Aug 1998) |
| ganglionic layer of optic nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The inner layer of multipolar neurons in the retina consisting of the relatively large neurons that give rise to the fibres of the optic nerve. Synonym: stratum ganglionare nervi optici. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vascular circle of optic nerve | <anatomy, nerve> A network of branches of the short ciliary arteries on the sclera around the point of entrance of the optic nerve. Synonym: circulus vasculosus nervi optici, circulus arteriosus halleri, circulus zinnii, Haller's circle, Zinn's corona, Zinn's vascular circle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| glioma of optic chiasm | A slow-growing tumour, usually an astrocytoma, of the optic chiasm in children. (05 Mar 2000) |