paralysis agitans
- noun
- /pəˈræləsɪs əˈdʒɪtəns/
- Archaic
:
parálisis agitante
- The patient was diagnosed with paralysis agitans after exhibiting persistent tremors and rigidity.
Examples
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Treatment options for paralysis agitans have evolved significantly since it was first described in the 19th century.
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In older medical texts, paralysis agitans is frequently used instead of Parkinson's disease.
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He was diagnosed with paralysis agitans last year.
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Many elderly people suffer from paralysis agitans.
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The patient was diagnosed with paralysis agitans after exhibiting persistent tremors and rigidity.
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Treatment options for paralysis agitans have evolved significantly since it was first described in the 19th century.
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In older medical texts, paralysis agitans is frequently used instead of Parkinson's disease.
Synonyms
19
3.1
A long-term brain illness that causes shaking, stiff muscles, and slow movement
A long-term brain disease that causes shaking, stiff muscles and slow movement
A long-term brain illness that causes shaking and stiff muscles
A brain disease that causes shaking, stiff muscles, and slow movement
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
paralysis + agitans
The first element 'paralysis' is transparent, but 'agitans' is a Latin participle (not a common English word) meaning roughly 'agitating' or 'shaking' and is unlikely to be known by a B1 learner. Even if a learner knew both constituents and inferred 'shaking paralysis', the established medical label refers specifically to Parkinson's disease, a specialized sense not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partly transparent.
Etymology
Paralysis agitans comes from Latin words paralysis meaning 'loss of movement' and agitans meaning 'shaking'. Doctors used the image of a body both weak and shaking to name the illness we now call 'Parkinson's disease'.