zoopsia
A patient experiencing zoopsia sees small rodents scurrying across the floor.
Noun: A visual hallucination involving the perception of animals. This symptom is sometimes associated with delirium tremens, a severe form of alcohol withdrawal.
The word "zoopsia" is a highly specific medical and psychological term. It is used almost exclusively in clinical, psychiatric, or neurological contexts to describe a particular type of hallucination. It is not used in everyday conversation.
- The patient experiencing severe withdrawal reported episodes of zoopsia, describing insects crawling on the walls.
- A documented symptom of delirium tremens is zoopsia, where individuals see snakes or other small creatures.
- The psychiatrist noted zoopsia in the differential diagnosis when the patient insisted there were rats in the room that no one else could see.
- Clinical Description: Zoopsia is categorized as a form of , meaning the perceived images are of recognizable objects (animals) as opposed to unformed shapes or lights.
- Etiological Context: While classically linked to delirium tremens, zoopsia can also be associated with other conditions, such as certain drug intoxications, neurological disorders, or severe fevers.
- Hallucination (n): The broader perceptual experience of sensing something that is not present. Zoopsia is a subtype of visual hallucination.
- Delirium Tremens (n): A serious condition of alcohol withdrawal that can cause agitation, confusion, and hallucinations, including zoopsia.
- Animal hallucination (descriptive phrase, not a single-word synonym)
The meaning of "zoopsia" is very precise. It refers only to visual hallucinations of animals. It does not refer to: * Seeing real animals. * Having a phobia or fear of animals (which is zoophobia). * Hallucinations of people, objects, or other non-animal forms.
A patient experiencing zoopsia sees small rodents scurrying across the floor.
- visual hallucination of animals; sometimes occurring in delirium tremens