xerophthalmia
- noun
- /ˌzɪəroʊˈθælmiə/
- Specialized
:
xerophthalmia
- The patient was diagnosed with xerophthalmia last week.
Examples
-
Untreated xerophthalmia can lead to serious eye complications and even blindness.
-
Public health programs aim to reduce xerophthalmia by providing vitamin A supplements.
-
The doctor diagnosed the child with xerophthalmia caused by severe vitamin A deficiency.
-
Many children in developing countries suffer from xerophthalmia due to malnutrition.
-
If untreated, xerophthalmia can result in severe vision impairment.
-
Children suffering from xerophthalmia may feel pain due to excessive dryness in their eyes.
-
The physician mentioned that xerophthalmia results from a deficiency of vitamin A.
Synonyms
A very dry front of the eye that causes blurred vision, often from low vitamin A
A very dry surface of the eye often caused by lack of vitamin A
A condition where the clear layer over the eye becomes very dry and irritated often from lack of vitamin A
Antonyms
How Dry
Surface Forms
Morphology
xerophthalmia = ophthalmia (opaque) = xero + ophthalmia
The term is built from Greek medical combining forms that are unfamiliar to average learners and the meaning ('dryness of the eye') is technical and not directly derivable from common English vocabulary.
Etymology
The word xerophthalmia comes from Greek parts xero- meaning 'dry' and -ophthalmia meaning 'eye', the same root you see in ophthalmology. So xerophthalmia literally means 'dry eye', which is why the word describes a serious drying of the eye often caused by a lack of vitamin A.