Niemann-Pick disease

[ nee-muhn-pik di-zeez ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. a rare, hereditary lipid-storage disease, occurring primarily among Ashkenazic Jews, in which abnormal lipid metabolism results in enlargement of the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes, and in progressive mental and physical deterioration.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Niemann-Pick disease¹

Described independently by German physicians Albert Niemann (1880–1921) in 1914 and Ludwig Pick (1868–1944) in 1926