tertiary syphilis

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Definition

Noun: - A late stage of syphilis: Tertiary syphilis is the third and most severe stage of the infectious disease syphilis. It is characterized by severe damage to internal organs, including the brain, spinal cord, heart, and liver, often occurring many years after the initial infection.

Usage
  • Tertiary syphilis is a serious medical condition requiring immediate treatment.
  • The neurological complications of tertiary syphilis can be debilitating.
  • Before modern antibiotics, tertiary syphilis was a common cause of insanity and heart disease.
Advanced Usage
  • Medical Diagnosis: In clinical contexts, the term specifies the late, non-infectious stage of the disease where bacteria cause destructive lesions (gummas) and cardiovascular or neurological problems.
    • The patient's psychosis was ultimately attributed to undiagnosed tertiary syphilis.
Variants and Related Words
  • Syphilis (noun): The name of the infectious disease itself, caused by the bacterium .
  • Primary syphilis (noun): The first stage, characterized by a chancre (sore) at the infection site.
  • Secondary syphilis (noun): The second stage, characterized by skin rashes and mucous membrane lesions.
  • Neurosyphilis (noun): A manifestation of tertiary syphilis where the infection affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
  • Cardiovascular syphilis (noun): A manifestation of tertiary syphilis where the infection damages the heart and major blood vessels.
Synonyms
  • Late syphilis
  • Third-stage syphilis
Related Phrases
  • Complications of tertiary syphilis: This phrase refers to the specific severe health problems resulting from this stage, such as general paresis, tabes dorsalis, or aortic aneurysm.
    • The study focused on the historical prevalence of neurological complications of tertiary syphilis.
Noun
  1. the third stage; characterized by involvement of internal organs especially the brain and spinal cord as well as the heart and liver