visceral leishmaniasis
- noun
- /ˈvɪsərəl liʃməˈnaɪəsɪs/
- Specialized
:
leishmaniasis visceral
- In some regions, visceral leishmaniasis is a leading cause of mortality among infected patients.
Examples
-
Doctors warn that visceral leishmaniasis can lead to severe complications if not treated promptly.
-
A concern must be that some major causes of illness and death, such as visceral leishmaniasis and African human trypanosomiasis, remain overshadowed and unaddressed.
Academic text (2013) -
Research indicates that visceral leishmaniasis primarily affects the liver and spleen.
Synonyms
A serious infection by tiny parasites that attack the liver and spleen and cause fever and weight loss
A serious infection caused by tiny parasites that affects internal organs like the liver and spleen
A serious disease caused by a parasite that attacks the spleen and liver
How Severe
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
9.9
- Specialized
1
7.3
- Specialized
5
5.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'visceral' means 'pertaining to internal organs' and 'leishmaniasis' names a disease caused by Leishmania; combined as an adjective+noun medical term they straightforwardly indicate the form of the disease that affects internal organs. This compositional pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can derive the overall meaning.
Etymology
Visceral leishmaniasis comes from two parts: visceral meaning 'inside the body' (the internal organs) and leishmaniasis named after a doctor called Leishman. That's why the name means 'a serious infection that attacks internal organs like the liver and spleen'.