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Glite Dictionary
Cushing's syndrome

Cushing's syndrome

1 4.5
A condition caused by too much cortisol, a stress hormone, that causes weight gain, weak muscles and high blood pressure
  • noun
  • /ˈkʌʃɪŋz ˈsɪndroʊm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : síndrome de Cushing
  • People with Cushing's syndrome often experience symptoms such as muscle weakness and fatigue.

Examples

  • Endogenous steroid production leading to Cushing's syndrome can result in CSCR, as described by Bouzas et al.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Endocrine disorders: diabetes, hypo/hyperthyroidism, Cushing's syndrome.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Cushing's syndrome can lead to significant weight gain and high blood pressure in patients with Cushing's syndrome.

  • Diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome involves testing cortisol levels in the body to confirm excessive production.

Synonyms

Cushing's disease
vsCushing's syndrome
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A condition in which the pituitary gland makes too much hormone, causing weight gain, high blood pressure, and weak muscles

is caused by adrenal cortisol overproduction rather than a pituitary hormone excess
hyperadrenocorticism
vsCushing's syndrome
  • Specialized
9.9

A condition where the body makes too much of the hormone cortisol in small glands above the kidneys

is the same medical condition expressed with a different technical term
hyperadrenalism
vsCushing's syndrome
  • Specialized
8.2

Small glands above the kidneys make too many hormones, causing weight gain

specifies cortisol excess as the main hormonal cause rather than any adrenal hormone

Surface Forms

Cushing's syndrome singular

Morphology

Cushing's + syndrome

This is an eponymic medical term: 'Cushing's' is a proper name that gives no semantic information about cortisol excess or adrenal pathology, while 'syndrome' only indicates a set of symptoms. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not be able to infer the specific medical meaning (excess cortisol and its characteristic symptoms), so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Cushing's syndrome comes from the American surgeon Harvey Cushing, who first showed that a set of signs was caused when a small gland in the brain made too much of the hormone 'cortisol'. Because he linked common problems such as weight gain, a round face and weak muscles to one cause, the name now tells doctors that the condition is caused by too much 'cortisol'.