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Glite Dictionary
Bright's disease

Bright's disease

1 7.9
An old name for a kidney illness that causes swelling and protein in the urine
  • noun
  • /braɪts dɪˈziːz/
  • Archaic
translation icon : enfermedad de Bright
  • When Antonapoulos finally dies of Bright's disease, Singer, overwhelmed by loneliness and despondency, turns on the gas and kills himself.

Examples

  • You have all the common symptoms of Bright's Disease.

    A Quiet Passion (2016)

  • The doctor explained that Bright's disease causes kidney inflammation and protein in the urine.

  • Symptoms of Bright's disease often include swelling, high blood pressure, and fatigue.

  • After several tests, the patient was confirmed to have Bright's disease, indicating kidney issues.

Synonyms

nephritis
vsBright's disease
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A swelling and soreness of the kidneys often caused by infection or immune problems

is an older umbrella name covering several types of kidney inflammation
glomerulonephritis
vsBright's disease
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Inflammation of the tiny kidney filters that causes blood and protein to appear in urine

is the historical general term that includes this specific kidney inflammation

Surface Forms

Bright's disease singular
Bright's diseases plural

Morphology

Bright's + disease

This is an eponymic medical term: 'Bright's' is a possessive proper name (Richard Bright) rather than a meaningful lexical element, and 'disease' is generic. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not be able to derive the specific meaning of kidney inflammation from them, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.

Etymology

Bright's disease comes from Dr Richard Bright, an English doctor in the 1800s who first described serious illness of the kidneys. Because people began using his name for those cases, Bright's disease came to mean 'kidney disease'.