myxedema

noun

myx·​ede·​ma ˌmik-sə-ˈdē-mə How to pronounce myxedema (audio)
: severe hypothyroidism characterized by firm inelastic edema, dry skin and hair, and loss of mental and physical vigor
myxedematous
ˌmik-sə-ˈde-mə-təs How to pronounce myxedema (audio)
-ˈdē-
adjective

Examples of myxedema in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Particularly in situations where people get illnesses such as the flu, people can get an infection and go into the state of myxedema coma, a life-threatening disorder where the mortality rate is extremely high. —BostonGlobe.com, 9 Dec. 2019

Word History

Etymology

myx- + edema

Note: Term introduced by the British physician William Miller Ord (1834-1902) in "On myxœdema, a term proposed to be applied to the essential condition in the 'cretinoid' affection occasionally observed in middle-aged women," Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, vol. 61 (1878), p. 71: "As regards the class of cases immediately in question, my suggestion is that the whole collection of symptoms are related as effects to jelly-like swelling of the connective tissue, chiefly if not entirely consisting in an overgrowth of the mucus-yielding cement by which the fibrils of the white element are held together. Accordingly I propose to give the name o

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of myxedema was in 1878

Dictionary Entries Near myxedema

myxamoeba

myxedema

Myxine

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Myxedema.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myxedema. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

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Medical Definition

myxedema

noun
myx·​ede·​ma
variants or chiefly British myxoedema
ˌmik-sə-ˈdē-mə How to pronounce myxedema (audio)
: severe hypothyroidism characterized by firm inelastic edema, dry skin and hair, and loss of mental and physical vigor
myxedematous adjective
or chiefly British myxoedematous
-ˈdem-ət-əs How to pronounce myxedema (audio) -ˈdē-mət- How to pronounce myxedema (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on myxedema

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about myxedema

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