keratalgia
- noun
- /ˌkɛrəˈtælʤə/
- Specialized
- Patients with severe keratalgia often experience sensitivity to light and discomfort.
Examples
-
She suffers from keratalgia in her left eye.
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The doctor diagnosed him with keratalgia after the exam.
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Patients with severe keratalgia often experience sensitivity to light and discomfort.
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She visited an ophthalmologist after days of persistent keratalgia in her left eye.
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Treatment for keratalgia depends on its underlying cause, such as infection or injury.
-
She visited an ophthalmologist after days of persistent keratalgia in her left eye.
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The doctor diagnosed him with keratalgia after examining his symptoms.
How Painful
Surface Forms
Morphology
keratalgia = cornea (opaque) = kerat + algia
Although the English word 'cornea' is recognizable, the medical combining form '-algia' ('pain') is not productive in everyday English, so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Keratalgia comes from Greek roots kerat 'horn' and algia 'pain' because the cornea was seen as a hard, horn-like clear front part of the eye. So, keratalgia literally means 'pain in the cornea', which helps you remember it is pain on the eye's front surface.