leprosy
a chronic, mildly infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, affecting the peripheral nervous system, skin, and nasal mucosa and variously characterized by ulcerations, tubercular nodules, and loss of sensation that sometimes leads to traumatic amputation of the anesthetized part.
Origin of leprosy
1- Also called Hansen's disease.
Other words from leprosy
- lep·rot·ic [le-prot-ik], /lɛˈprɒt ɪk/, adjective
- an·ti·lep·ro·sy, adjective
Words Nearby leprosy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use leprosy in a sentence
Pauling went on to claim that high doses of the supplement could cure everything from heart disease to leprosy, and even cancer.
Upon attaining a series of negative bacteriological tests, inmates were allowed temporary medical release and could travel, live and seek employment outside the leprosy settlement in the 1950s.
Adapting to post-pandemic life will require remembering covid-19 | Adria Imada | March 18, 2021 | Washington PostA disease known for millennia, leprosy had been common in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Adapting to post-pandemic life will require remembering covid-19 | Adria Imada | March 18, 2021 | Washington PostAfter a “miracle” sulfone antibiotic cure was introduced to the leprosy settlement in 1946, people were no longer contagious.
Adapting to post-pandemic life will require remembering covid-19 | Adria Imada | March 18, 2021 | Washington PostSimilarly, diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy Advertisement and measles have been with us for several millennia.
How Do Pandemics End? History Suggests Diseases Fade But Are Almost Never Truly Gone | LGBTQ-Editor | October 22, 2020 | No Straight News
British Dictionary definitions for leprosy
/ (ˈlɛprəsɪ) /
pathol a chronic infectious disease occurring mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, characterized by the formation of painful inflamed nodules beneath the skin and disfigurement and wasting of affected parts, caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae: Also called: Hansen's disease
Origin of leprosy
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for leprosy
[ lĕp′rə-sē ]
A slowly progressive, chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, that damages nerves, skin, and mucous membranes, and can lead to loss of sensation, paralysis, gangrene, and deformity if untreated.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for leprosy
[ (lep-ruh-see) ]
A chronic and infectious disease, characterized by patches of altered skin and nerve tissue (lesions) that gradually spread to cause muscle weakness, deformities, and paralysis. Some forms of antibiotics are now used to treat this disease, and plastic surgery can help correct the deformities it causes. Also called Hansen's disease.
Notes for leprosy
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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