#disease

• The Aban (illness entity) — An extremely rare archaic term attested in old Balkan apocryphal writings or healing manuscripts, denoting the symbolic or demonic personification of an acute febrile illness or a severe muscle spasm. In medieval folk medicine, diseases were frequently labeled with strange proper names (such as Abanul) to facilitate medical exorcism rituals and charms aimed at driving away pain.
• Abason (illness entity) — A rare archaic and mythological term found in medieval superstitions and magic-medical manuscripts of Southern Europe, representing the demonic personification of an acute mental illness or furious delirium. In ancient empirical medicine, severe epileptic seizures or psychotic episodes were often attributed to possession by Abason, with healing attempted through charms, exorcisms, and fumigations with sedative plants.
• Abatis — A defensive obstacle made of felled trees with sharpened branches directed toward the enemy (abatis). In the history of military medicine and field epidemiology, areas with abatis accumulated organic waste and stagnant water, becoming unsanitary hotspots and breeding grounds for vectors (mosquitoes, rats) responsible for malaria, typhus, or cholera epidemics among besieged troops.
• Anti-brush border antibody disease — Anti-brush border antibody (ABBA) disease is a rare autoimmune kidney condition, specifically a form of tubulointerstitial nephritis, characterized by autoantibodies targeting the LRP2 (megalin) protein in the proximal tubules, leading to acute tubular injury and progressive renal failure.
• Acantholysis — A histological pathological process characterized by the loss of intercellular cohesion between keratinocytes in the stratum spinosum of the epidermis, caused by the destruction or dysfunction of desmosomes (cellular junction structures). This biochemical and immunological phenomenon leads to the separation of epithelial cells, formation of clefts, and subsequent development of intraepidermal vesicles or bullae, serving as the definitive microscopic hallmark for severe autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris.
• Acariasis — A generic term designating any contagious, parasitic skin, respiratory, or systemic disease caused by infestation with various species of mites in humans and animals. In human medicine, the most prominent manifestation is sarcoptic acariasis (scabies), whereas in apiculture and animal husbandry, the term describes severe conditions such as acarine disease of honeybees (caused by Acarapis woodi in the tracheae) or various forms of demodectic and psoroptic mange.
• Acarology — A specialized branch of zoology (specifically of arachnology) that deals with the academic, taxonomic, anatomical, and ecological study of mites and ticks. Applied acarology holds fundamental importance in human medicine, veterinary medicine, and agriculture, focusing on researching crop-damaging species, disease transmission vectors (such as Lyme disease), and developing biochemical control methods.
• Acrodermatitis — An inflammatory, chronic, or acute dermatological disorder localized exclusively or predominantly on the extremities of the body (hands, feet, fingers), manifesting as cutaneous lesions, erythema, or vesicles.
• Acrodynia — A complex clinical syndrome characterized by intense pain, erythema, swelling, paresthesia, and desquamation of the hands and feet, often accompanied by severe neuropsychiatric disorders and tachycardia due to mercury poisoning.
• Acroneurosis — A general clinical term designating a group of functional neurological disorders, vasomotor and trophic in nature, localized exclusively within the extremities of the body (hands and feet). This structural neuromuscular manifestation includes syndromes such as Raynaud's disease, acrocyanosis, or erythromelalgia, characterized by crises of pallor, cyanosis, intense pain, paresthesias, and local changes in skin temperature, without an initial destructive organic lesion of the vessels.
• Acropachy — A rare pathological clinical syndrome characterized by the subperiosteal thickening and deformation of the long bones of the extremities, associated with soft tissue hypertrophy of the fingers and toes (clubbing / Hippocratic digits). This osteoarticular structural phenomenon occurs most frequently as an advanced extrathyroidal manifestation of Graves' disease (thyroid acropachy), typically coexisting with exophthalmos and pretibial myxedema.
• Acropathology — A specialized branch of medical pathology or a niche clinical discipline dealing with the systematic study, diagnosis, anatomical description, and treatment of all diseases, structural anomalies, injuries, and functional disorders localized within the extremities of the body (hands, feet, and digits).
• Actinobacillosis — A chronic, structural infectious disease primarily affecting animals (especially cattle and swine) and extremely rarely humans, caused by bacteria of the genus Actinobacillus (such as Actinobacillus lignieresii). The disease is clinically characterized by the development of abscesses and hard granulomatous nodules in soft tissues, frequently localized in the tongue (commonly known as 'wooden tongue'), lymph nodes, or respiratory tract, causing major difficulties in mastication and deglutition.
• Actinomycosis — A chronic, non-contagious structural bacterial infectious disease caused by anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria of the genus Actinomyces (most commonly Actinomyces israelii), which normally colonize human mucous membranes. The condition manifests through the development of hard inflammatory granulomas and pseudotumoral suppurative abscesses that drain via fistulous tracts a characteristic pus containing yellow granules ('sulfur granules'), most frequently localizing cervicofacially (mouth and neck), thoracically, or abdominally following local trauma.
• Actinopathy — A structural medical term used to define any pathological state, skin lesion, or systemic condition directly caused by prolonged, accidental, or therapeutic exposure to light radiation, ultraviolet rays, or ionizing radiation (X-rays and gamma rays). Actinopathy encompasses conditions ranging from acute radiodermatitis and severe sunburns to deep cellular degenerative changes or actinic cataracts induced by aggressive radiant fluxes.
• Addison — A proper noun of Anglo-Saxon origin used as a surname or given name, etymologically meaning 'son of Addie'. In medicine, the term identifies Addison's disease (primary chronic adrenal insufficiency), first described by British physician Thomas Addison. It also names several municipalities and towns across the United States of America.
• Adenovirus infection — An infectious and contagious disease caused by adenoviruses, structurally and functionally affecting the mucous membranes of the respiratory, digestive, or ocular tracts, as well as the associated lymphoid tissue. This condition manifests clinically through a variety of syndromes, including pharyngitis, conjunctivitis (pharyngoconjunctival fever), gastroenteritis, or mesenteric adenitis, being particularly common among children.
• Affection / Fondness — A noun with two primary meanings. Emotionally, it denotes a steady feeling of fondness, attachment, warmth, or love toward someone. Clinically, it refers to a pathological condition, disease, lesion, or functional disorder of an organ or biological system.
• Aglossia — An extremely rare congenital malformation characterized by the total anatomical and structural absence of the tongue. This embryonic developmental anomaly severely impairs the vital functions of deglutition, respiration, and mastication, as well as the functional capacity to articulate speech sounds and spoken language.
• AIDS — International medical acronym for 'Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome', a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The virus structurally destroys the cells of the immune system, depriving the body of its capacity to fight opportunistic infections and malignancies, with the AIDS stage representing the advanced clinical phase of the infection.