epidemic parotitis
Noun: * An acute contagious viral disease characterized by fever and by swelling of the parotid glands: This is the medical term for a specific infectious illness. The core features are its sudden onset, its ability to spread easily between people, its viral cause, and the primary symptom of inflamed salivary glands located near the ears, accompanied by fever.
This term is primarily used in formal, medical, and scientific contexts. * The public health report listed several cases of epidemic parotitis in the school district. * Before the vaccine was developed, epidemic parotitis was a common childhood illness.
- As a countable noun: It can be referred to in both singular and plural forms when discussing outbreaks.
- An epidemic parotitis outbreak was contained quickly.
- Historical records describe severe epidemic parotitises in crowded populations.
- Mumps: This is the common, everyday name for epidemic parotitis. The two terms are synonyms, with "mumps" being used in general conversation and "epidemic parotitis" in technical writing.
- Parotitis: Refers to inflammation of the parotid glands from any cause (viral, bacterial, or obstructive). Epidemic parotitis is a specific type of infectious parotitis.
- Mumps
- Infectious parotitis
The term "epidemic parotitis" has only one specific meaning: the disease known as mumps. It does not have other general or figurative meanings. The word "epidemic" within the term refers to the disease's contagious nature and potential to cause outbreaks, not to the severity of a specific case.
- an acute contagious viral disease characterized by fever and by swelling of the parotid glands