poliomyelitis
pronunciation
How to pronounce poliomyelitis in British English:
UK [ˌpəʊlɪəʊˌmaɪə'laɪtɪs]
How to pronounce poliomyelitis in American English:
US [ˌpoʊlɪəʊˌmaɪə'laɪtɪs]
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- Noun:
- an acute viral disease marked by inflammation of nerve cells of the brain stem and spinal cord
Word Origin
- poliomyelitis (n.)
- 1874, also polio-myelitis, coined by German physician Adolph Kussmaul (1822-1902) from Greek polios "grey" (see fallow (adj.)) + myelos "marrow" + -itis "inflammation." So called because the gray matter in the spinal cord is inflamed, which causes paralysis. The earlier name was infantile paralysis (1843). In many respects, also, this affection resembles the acute spinal paralysis of infancy, which, from the researches of Charcot, Joffroy, and others, have been shown pathologically to be an acute myelitis of the anterior cornua. Hence, for these forms of paralysis, Professor Kussmaul suggests the name of 'poliomyelitis anterior.' ["London Medical Record," Dec. 9, 1874]