acathexia
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A medical condition characterized by the body's inability to retain or control its normal secretions or excretions.
Usage
This is a highly specialized medical term. It is used in clinical and pathological contexts to describe a specific failure of physiological retention. - The patient's acathexia presented a significant challenge for the care team. - Acathexia can be a symptom of certain neurological disorders.
Advanced Usage
The term is almost exclusively used in technical medical literature and discussions. It is not used in everyday language.
Variants and Related Words
- Cathexis (n): In psychoanalytic theory, the concentration of mental energy on a particular person, idea, or object. (Note: This is a different, unrelated term from psychology).
- -hexia (suffix): A suffix used in medical terminology relating to a condition or habit of the body.
Synonyms
- Incontinence (Note: "Incontinence" is a broader, more common term that can refer to an inability to retain urine or feces, whereas "acathexia" can refer more broadly to various bodily secretions).
- Secretory incontinence
Antonyms
- Retention
- Control
Noun
- an inability to retain bodily secretions