tabes dorsalis
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A late-stage neurological complication of untreated syphilis, involving degeneration of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and sensory nerve roots. This leads to characteristic symptoms such as severe, lightning-like pains, loss of coordination, bladder dysfunction, and impaired reflexes.
Usage
The term is used in medical and historical contexts to describe a specific neurosyphilitic condition. * The patient's unsteady gait and lancinating pains were classic signs of tabes dorsalis. * Before the discovery of penicillin, tabes dorsalis was a feared outcome of tertiary syphilis.
Advanced Usage
- The condition is also historically referred to as locomotor ataxia, emphasizing the loss of motor coordination.
- A diagnostic sign associated with is the Argyll Robertson pupil, where the pupil constricts for near vision but not in reaction to light.
Variants and Related Words
- Tabetic (adjective): Pertaining to or affected by tabes dorsalis.
- The patient exhibited tabetic crises of pain.
- Neurosyphilis (noun): A broader term for syphilitic infection of the nervous system, of which is one form.
Synonyms
- Locomotor ataxia
- Progressive locomotor ataxia
- Syphilitic myelopathy
Related Phrases
- Tabetic crisis: Refers to the sudden, paroxysmal attacks of severe pain experienced in .
- Posterior column disease: A descriptive term highlighting the primary site of spinal cord pathology in .
Noun
- syphilis of the spinal cord characterized by degeneration of sensory neurons and stabbing pains in the trunk and legs and unsteady gait and incontinence and impotence