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porphyria

porphyria

5 9.9
A rare inherited illness that causes stomach pain and confusion when certain chemicals build up in the body
  • noun
  • /pɔrˈfɪrɪə/
  • Specialized
: porfiria
  • Doctors often advise patients with porphyria to avoid sunlight to prevent skin reactions.
  • a rare disorder
  • porphyria, a rare disorder
  • acute porphyria

Examples

  • The symptoms of porphyria can vary widely, including mental confusion and sensitivity to light.

  • - It's cutaneous porphyria, right?

  • Porphyria?

  • Morlock had porphyria.

  • He has porphyria.

  • The books I would write came about because the mercury poison gave me porphyria, mast cell disease, asthma, heart failure, kidney problems, and more.

    Blog text (21)
  • In July 1993, the Veterans Administration announced that Hodgkin's disease and a skin blistering condition called porphyria cutanea tarda would also be compensable.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Some modern scholars have linked the legend to vampiric symptoms of diseases like rabies and porphyria (a rare genetic disorder that can cause extreme sensitivity to sunlight and turn teeth reddish-brown).

    Blog text (1)
  • Individuals diagnosed with porphyria may experience severe abdominal pain during an episode.

Synonyms

metabolic disorder
vsporphyria
  • Specialized
3 3.7

A health problem where the body cannot use food or energy properly

is a specific inherited condition causing buildup of certain chemicals and distinct symptoms

Surface Forms

porphyria singular
porphyrias plural

Morphology

porphyria = porphyr + ia

Although formed with the medical suffix '-ia', the stem 'porphyr-' is not a familiar English word for average learners, so the meaning cannot be derived from known components.

Etymology

The word porphyria comes from the Greek root porphyra meaning 'purple'. People with the disease often have dark or purple urine because of a chemical build-up, so the name points to that visible sign of the illness.