sclerosis
UK /skləˈɹəʊ.sɪs/ · US /skləˈɹoʊ.sɪs/ noun
Forms scleroses
- noun (pathology) The abnormal hardening of body tissues, such as an artery; the appearance of hardenings, indurations, lesions, nodules.
- noun Inability to create change or excessive resistance to change.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σκλήρωσις (sklḗrōsis, “hardening”), from σκληρόω (sklēróō, “to harden”), from σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”); by surface analysis, sclero- + -osis.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Induration; hardening; especially, that form of induration produced in an organ by increase of its interstitial connective tissue.
- noun Hardening of the cell wall by lignification. Cerebro-spinal sclerosis (Med.), an affection in which patches of hardening, produced by increase of the neuroglia and atrophy of the true nerve tissue, are found scattered throughout the brain and spinal cord. It is associated with complete or partial paralysis, a peculiar jerking tremor of the muscles, headache, and vertigo, and is usually fatal.
Etymology [NL., fr. Gr. (sklhro`s hard.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sclerosis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details