porphyria

[ pawr-feer-ee-uh, -fahy-ree-uh ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. a defect of blood pigment metabolism in which porphyrins are produced in excess, are present in the blood, and are found in the urine.

porphyria

/ pɔːˈfɪrɪə /

noun

1. a hereditary disease of body metabolism, producing abdominal pain, mental confusion, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of porphyria¹

First recorded in 1920–25; porphyr(in) + -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of porphyria¹

C19: from New Latin, from porphyrin a purple substance excreted by patients suffering from this condition, from Greek porphura purple

Example Sentences

For many years, it was believed the king suffered from acute porphyria, a genetic disorder that can affect the nervous system.

From Los Angeles Times

The drug treats acute intermittent porphyria, which runs in families and can leave people unable to work or have a normal life.

From BBC

Sue Burrell no longer has bouts of severe pain caused by her acute intermittent porphyria.

From BBC

God knows, there were other places he could have gone – claiming to have caught porphyria from a sofa once owned by George III, for instance, or to have been chemically castrated in ’Nam.

From The Guardian

The drug, Givlaari, uses a mechanism known as RNA interference to target and “silence” specific genetic material, blocking the production of the protein that causes acute hepatic porphyria.

From Washington Post