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Glite Dictionary
subacute bacterial endocarditis

subacute bacterial endocarditis

5.8
An infection of the inner lining of the heart and its valves caused by bacteria that develops slowly
  • noun
  • /ˌsʌbəˈkjut ˈbækˌtɪrɪəl ˌɛndəʊkɑːrˈdaɪtɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : endocarditis bacteriana subaguda
  • Patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis often experience symptoms like fatigue and fever that develop over time.

Examples

  • After several weeks of feeling unwell, he was diagnosed with subacute bacterial endocarditis, a chronic infection affecting his heart.

  • The doctor explained that subacute bacterial endocarditis can lead to serious heart complications if not treated quickly.

  • Consider the case of a hospital in New York City that dedicates a ward to the treatment of patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart muscles and valves.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

endocarditis
vssubacute bacterial endocarditis
  • Specialized
6 9.1

A serious infection that makes the heart's inner lining and valves swollen

is a chronic bacterial infection causing symptoms that develop gradually

Surface Forms

subacute bacterial endocarditis singular
subacute bacterial endocarditides plural

Morphology

subacute + bacterial + endocarditis

The overall meaning is directly compositional: 'endocarditis' names inflammation/infection of the heart lining, 'bacterial' specifies the cause, and 'subacute' indicates a between-acute-and-chronic (gradual) time course. Although medical, the adjective+noun combination follows ordinary compositional patterns (and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically), so a learner who knows the parts can infer the full meaning.

Etymology

Subacute bacterial endocarditis is made of parts you can picture: subacute means 'not sudden' or 'slow', bacterial means caused by 'bacteria' or germs, and endocarditis means swelling of the heart's 'inner lining'. So the term means a 'slow' infection inside the heart.