Definition

Noun: 1. (Medicine) Ascites / Hydropsy: A pathological condition characterized by an abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in the peritoneal cavity, leading to abdominal swelling and distension. Historically considered a severe and difficult-to-treat disease. 2. (Figurative, literary) A state of severe, often terminal, bloating or swelling. Used to describe something dangerously overextended or filled to bursting point.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Medical):

  • Bệnh nhân được chẩn đoán mắc chứng cổ trướng do xơ gan. (The patient was diagnosed with ascites due to cirrhosis.)
  • Triệu chứng chính của cổ trướng là bụng căng to và nặng. (The main symptom of ascites is a large, heavy, and distended abdomen.)

• Noun (Figurative):

  • Nền kinh tế cổ trướng vì nợ nần đang đứng trước nguy cơ vỡ nợ. (The economy, bloated with debt, is facing the risk of default.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cổ trướng" is derived from Sino-Vietnamese roots ("cổ" meaning drum, "trướng" meaning swollen), vividly depicting a belly as tight as a drum. In modern medical Vietnamese, "báng bụng" is a more common synonym, while "cổ trướng" retains a more classical or formal tone.

Variants and Related Words

• Báng bụng (n): The more common contemporary term for ascites.
  • Siêu âm giúp phát hiện báng bụng. (Ultrasound helps detect ascites.)
• Trướng bụng (v/n): Abdominal distension/bloating (can be a general symptom, not necessarily from fluid accumulation).
  • Ăn nhanh có thể gây trướng bụng. (Eating quickly can cause abdominal bloating.)

Synonyms

• Ascites: (Medical) The pathological accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
• Hydropsy: (Medical, somewhat archaic) An old term for edema or abnormal accumulation of serous fluid.
• Abdominal dropsy: (Medical, historical) An older English term for ascites.

Related Idioms

• Tứ chứng nan y: The four incurable diseases. Historically, "cổ trướng" was classified as one of these four terminal illnesses in traditional medicine, alongside phthisis (lao), cancer (đinh nhọt), and leprosy (phong).
  • Cổ trướng ngày xưa được xếp vào tứ chứng nan y. (In the past, ascites was classified as one of the four incurable diseases.)

noun

1. (y học) Hydropsy