Wilson's disease
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈwɪlsənz dɪˈziːz/
- Specialized
:
enfermedad de Wilson
- Wilson's disease.
Examples
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First they thought it was essential tremor, then Wilson's disease, then Huntington's.
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D-penicillamine has been used for many years in the treatment of Wilson's disease and cystinuria and is now widely used in rheumatoid arthritis.
Academic text (1991) -
A correct diagnosis of Wilson's disease can lead to effective treatment options for patients.
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Doctors often recommend genetic testing for families affected by Wilson's disease to identify those at risk.
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Symptoms of Wilson's disease can include neurological problems and liver dysfunction due to copper buildup.
Synonyms
A rare inherited disease where copper builds up and harms the liver and brain
Surface Forms
Morphology
Wilson's + disease
This is an eponymic label: knowing 'Wilson's' as a name and 'disease' as a medical condition lets a B1 learner infer that it is some disease associated with a person named Wilson, but not the specific inherited copper‑accumulation disorder. The general class (a disease) is transparent, while the precise pathological meaning and symptoms are specialized and not derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Wilson's disease comes from a doctor named Wilson who first described the illness about 100 years ago. He saw patients with too much copper in their liver and brain, so the condition was 'named after' him and today the term means a disorder passed down from parents where copper builds up in the body.