polyneuritic psychosis

9.9

A serious memory problem where heavy long-term drinkers lose recent memories but keep old ones

noun
/ˌpɒlɪnjʊˈrɪtɪk saɪˈkoʊsɪs/

Archaic

: psicosis polineurítica

Symptoms of polyneuritic psychosis include confusion and an inability to remember recent events.

Examples

Patients suffering from polyneuritic psychosis often forget recent events.
The patient was diagnosed with polyneuritic psychosis after years of heavy drinking.
Doctors noted that her polyneuritic psychosis was linked to chronic alcoholism.
The doctor diagnosed him with polyneuritic psychosis after months of alcohol abuse.
Doctors noted that her polyneuritic psychosis was linked to chronic alcoholism.
Symptoms of polyneuritic psychosis include confusion and an inability to remember recent events.
The patient was diagnosed with polyneuritic psychosis after years of heavy drinking.

Synonyms

Korsakoff's syndrome

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

1 8.6

A long-lasting memory disorder that prevents making new memories but keeps older memories, often after heavy drinking

presents this problem as a late stage dementia linked to chronic alcohol use

alcoholic dementia

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

7.8

A kind of memory loss caused by many years of heavy drinking that affects recent memories but not old ones

is the specific clinical name used for that same condition

alcohol amnestic disorder

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

9.1

A serious loss of recent memory after long term heavy drinking while older memories stay

is the broader dementia term rather than that specific memory label

Korsakoff's psychosis

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

9.1

Long-lasting memory problem with severe short-term memory loss caused by long-term heavy drinking

uses the dementia classification instead of a general memory disorder label

Korsakov's psychosis

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

9.9

A long-lasting memory disorder after heavy drinking that makes people forget recent events but remember older ones

is framed as a dementia of late stages rather than a general mental illness

Korsakov's syndrome

vspolyneuritic psychosis

Specialized

9.9

A long-lasting memory problem often after heavy drinking that makes a person lose recent memories but keep older ones

focuses on the dementia diagnosis rather than on a single nutritional cause

Surface Forms

polyneuritic psychosis singular

polyneuritic psychoses plural

Morphology

polyneuritic + psychosis

The elements 'polyneuritic' (poly- many + neuritic relating to nerve inflammation) combined with 'psychosis' (delusions/hallucinations) would lead a learner to infer a nerve-related psychiatric condition, so there is a clear compositional link. However, the specific clinical sense given (an alcohol-related dementia with a particular memory profile) is a specialized, narrower medical meaning that is not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Polyneuritic psychosis comes from old Greek parts: poly- meaning 'many', neuritic meaning 'nerve', and psychosis meaning 'mind sickness'. The image of many damaged nerves and a sick mind helps explain why the term refers to the dementia that can follow many years of heavy drinking, where there is a 'loss of recent memory' while older memories stay.