white leg

9.8

A painful swelling in the upper leg caused by a blood clot after giving birth

noun

Archaic

: pierna blanca

Doctors recognized the symptoms of white leg by the swelling and pain in her thigh.

Examples

She was diagnosed with white leg after giving birth.
Early treatment of white leg can help prevent serious complications.
After giving birth, she developed white leg, which required prompt medical attention.
The doctor explained the symptoms of white leg to her.
After giving birth, she developed white leg, which required prompt medical attention.
Doctors recognized the symptoms of white leg by the swelling and pain in her thigh.
Early treatment of white leg can help prevent serious complications.

Synonyms

milk leg

vswhite leg

Archaic

1 9.9

A painful swelling in the leg after childbirth caused by a blood clot

is the modern neutral medical term rather than this traditional name

thrombophlebitis

vswhite leg

Specialized

1 9.9

Swelling and pain in a vein caused by a blood clot

is specific to femoral vein clot causing painful swelling after childbirth

phlegmasia alba dolens

vswhite leg

Specialized

9.9

Painful swelling and pale color of a leg from a blood clot, often after childbirth

is the common name used in everyday speech rather than the technical term

Surface Forms

white leg singular

white legs plural

Morphology

white + leg

A B1 learner who knows 'white' (a color) and 'leg' (a limb) would most likely interpret 'white leg' as a description of a pale or discolored limb, not as a specific postpartum femoral vein thrombosis. The term denotes a specialized medical condition whose meaning cannot be derived from its literal parts, so it would be unpredictable and opaque to learners.

Etymology

The noun white leg comes from old doctors who saw a swollen leg after childbirth that often looked pale or white because blood flow was blocked by a clot. That clear picture of a pale, painful leg is why the term means the painful swelling caused by a blood clot after giving birth.