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Syndrome Compare
Omen and Symbolise
(in dictionary) or Symbolic (in
encyclopedia) and psychology,
Omen, sign
or augury believed to foreshadow the future. Almost any occurrence can be
interpreted as an omen. The typical omen was a natural phenomenon, such as a
meteor, an eclipse, or the flight of birds. Among the Greeks and Romans the
interpretation of omens was a major part of religious life and required trained
priests, such as the Roman augur, to explain the meaning of the signs. Belief
in omens still survives in superstitions concerning such things as black cats,
nightmares, unlucky days, and breaking mirrors.
Syndrome Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source
In medicine and psychology, the term syndrome refers
to the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs
(discovered by a physician), symptoms (reported
by the patient), phenomena or characteristics which often occur together, so
that the presence of one feature alerts the physician to the presence
of the others. In recent decades the term has been used outside of medicine to
refer to a combination of phenomena seen in association.
In technical medical language,
a "syndrome" refers only to the set of detectable characteristics. A
specific disease,
condition, or disorder may or may not be indentified
as the underlying cause. Confusingly, even once a physical cause has been
identified, the word "syndrome" is sometimes kept in the name of the
disease. Subjective medical conditions are not
supported by evidence of an underlying physical cause.
The term syndrome
derives from the Greek and means literally "run together," as the
features do. It is most often used when the reason that the features occur
together (the pathophysiology of the syndrome) has not
yet been discovered. A familiar syndrome name often continues to be used even
after an underlying cause has been found, or when there are a number of
different primary causes that all give rise to the same combination of symptoms
and signs. Many syndromes are named after the physicians credited with first
reporting the association; these are "eponymous"
syndromes (see also the list of eponymous diseases, many of which are
referred to as "syndromes"). Otherwise, disease features or presumed
causes, as well as references to geography, history or poetry, can lend
their names to syndromes.
A culture-bound syndrome is a set of symptoms where
there is no evidence of an underlying biological cause, and which is only
recognized as a "disease" in a particular culture.
Syndromes and associated
conditions
The description of a syndrome
usually includes a number of essential characteristics, which when concurrent
lead to the diagnosis of the condition. Frequently these are classified as a
combination of typical major symptoms and signs - essential to the
diagnosis - together with minor findings, some or all of which may be
absent. A formal description may specify the minimum number of major and minor
findings respectively, that are required for the
diagnosis.
In contrast to the major and
minor findings which are typical of the syndrome, there may be an association
with other conditions, meaning that in persons with the specified syndrome
these associated conditions occur more frequently
than would be expected by chance. While the syndrome and the associated
conditions may be statistically related, they do not have a clear cause and
effect relationship - i.e. there is likely to be a separate underlying problem
or risk
factor that explains the association. An example would be Down syndrome which
has the associated condition of diabetes
mellitus. A knowledge of associated
conditions would dictate that they are specifically looked for in the
management of the syndrome.
Case studies
One recent case study is Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS), so named because most syndromal
immune deficiencies are either genetically precoded,
or secondary to either metabolic
disorders or hematological disease.
AIDS was originally termed
"Gay Related Immune Disease" (or GRID), a name which was revised as
the disease turned out to also affect heterosexuals. Several years passed after
the recognition of AIDS before HIV (human
immunodeficiency virus) was first described, finally explaining the hitherto
mysterious "syndrome".
SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) is an even more recent example of a syndrome that was
later explained with the identification of a causative coronavirus.
See also
- Syndromes lists articles about specific medical syndromes.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
syn·drome 
ˈsɪndroʊm, -drəm - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sin-drohm, -druhm]
Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
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1. |
Pathology,
Psychiatry.
a group of symptoms
that together are characteristic of a specific disorder, disease, or the like. |
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2. |
a group of related or coincident things, events, actions, etc.
|
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3. |
the
pattern of symptoms that characterize or indicate a particular social
condition. |
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4. |
a
predictable, characteristic pattern of behavior, action, etc., that tends to
occur under certain circumstances: the
retirement syndrome of endless golf and bridge games; the feast-or-famine
syndrome of big business. |
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Syndrome
http://www.reference.com/search?q=syndrome%20%20
[Origin: 1535–45;
< NL < Gk syndrom
concurrence, combination, equiv. to syn-
syn- + drom-,
base meaning “run” (see -drome) + -é fem. n.
suffix]
—Related forms
syn·drom·ic sɪnˈdrɒmɪk - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sin-drom-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show
IPA Pronunciation, adjective
|
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) |
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
|
syn·drome 1.
A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize
a disease, psychological disorder, or other abnormal condition. 2.
a.
A complex of symptoms indicating the existence of an
undesirable condition or quality. b.
A distinctive or characteristic pattern of behavior: the
syndrome of conspicuous consumption in wealthy suburbs.
|
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition |
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source
syndrome
"a number of symptoms occurring
together," 1541, from Mod.L., from Gk. syndrome
"concurrence of symptoms, concourse," from syndromos, lit.
"running together," from syn-
"with" + dromos
"running, course." Psychological sense is from 1955.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
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syndrome |
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|
|
|
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1. |
a complex of concurrent things; "every word has a
syndrome of meanings" |
|
2. |
a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease |
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WordNet®
3.0, © 2006 by |
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source
|
syndrome |
|
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary |
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source
syndrome [(sin-drohm)]
A set
of signs and symptoms that appear together and characterize a disease or
medical condition. AIDS is an example of a syndrome.
Note: A
collection of attitudes or behaviors that go together is often called a
syndrome.
[Chapter:] Medicine and Health
|
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third
Edition |
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source
)A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a
disease, a psychological disorder, or another abnormal condition.
syn·drom
ic (-dr
m
k,
-dr
mk)
adj.
|
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary |
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source
Main
Entry: syn·drome
Pronunciation: 'sin-"drOm also -dr&m
Function: noun
: a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a
particular abnormality
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster,
Inc. |
On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source
syndrome
syndrome: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
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On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical
Publishing & CancerWEB |
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