Definition

Noun 1. An acute inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants; necrosis of intestinal tissue may follow. * NEC is a serious medical condition primarily affecting premature babies, characterized by severe inflammation and potential tissue death in the bowel.

Usage

• NEC is used exclusively as a medical term, specifically in pediatrics and neonatology.
• It is almost always used as an initialism (NEC) and treated as a proper noun, often without an article.
• Example: "The premature infant was diagnosed with NEC and transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit for specialized treatment."

Examples

• Noun:
  • The primary risk factor for developing NEC is premature birth.
  • Doctors are monitoring the baby closely for any signs of NEC.
  • Advances in neonatal care have helped reduce the incidence of nec.

Advanced Usage

• The term is frequently modified by stages of severity (e.g., , , ) or outcomes (e.g., ).
• It is a key term in medical research and clinical discussions concerning infant morbidity.

Variants and Related Words

• Necrotizing Enterocolitis: This is the full, non-abbreviated form of the term. "Nec" is the standardized medical initialism.
• Enterocolitis (n): Inflammation of the intestines, specifically the small intestine and colon.
• Necrosis (n): The death of most or all of the cells in an organ or tissue due to disease, injury, or failure of the blood supply.

Synonyms

• There are no direct synonyms for this specific medical diagnosis. Related descriptive terms include:
  • Intestinal necrosis
  • Bowel inflammation (though this is a much broader, non-specific term)

Notes

• NEC is a highly specialized term from the field of medicine. It is not used in everyday conversation.
• It is crucial to understand that this is a formal diagnosis and not a general descriptive word for stomach or intestinal problems.

Noun

1. an acute inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants; necrosis of intestinal tissue may follow