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dysentery

 
Dictionary: dys·en·ter·y   (dĭs'ən-tĕr'ē) pronunciation
n.

An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.

[Middle English dissenterie, from Old French, from Latin dysenteria, from Greek dusenteriā : dus-, dys- + enteron, intestine.]

dysenteric dys'en·ter'ic adj.

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Infectious intestinal disorder. It is characterized by inflammation, abdominal pain and straining, and diarrhea, often containing blood and mucus. Dysentery is spread in food or water contaminated by feces, often by infected individuals with unwashed hands. Bacillary dysentery (shigellosis), caused by Shigella bacteria, may be mild or may be sudden, severe, and fatal. Fluid loss causes dehydration. Advanced stages include chronic large-intestine ulceration. It is treated with antibiotics, fluid replacement, and sometimes blood transfusion. Amoebic (or amebic) dysentery, caused by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica, has two forms, one much like bacillary dysentery and the other chronic and intermittent, sometimes with large-intestine ulcerations. It is treated with drugs that kill the amoeba.

For more information on dysentery, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: dysentery
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dysentery (dĭs'əntĕr'ē), inflammation of the intestine characterized by the frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. The two most common causes of dysentery are infection with a bacillus (see bacteria) of the Shigella group, and infestation by an ameba, Entamoeba histolytica. Both bacillary and amebic dysentery are spread by fecal contamination of food and water and are most common where sanitation is poor. They are primarily diseases of the tropics, but may occur in any climate.

Bacillary Dysentery

It is estimated that in some parts of the tropics 80% of the children acquire bacillary dysentery before the age of five; the mortality rate is high among infants and the aged if the infection is not treated, preferably with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. In adults bacillary dysentery usually subsides spontaneously, but treatment is desirable to prevent recurrence.

Amebic Dysentery

Amebic dysentery is prevalent in regions where human excrement is used as fertilizer; in some such regions over half the population probably harbors the amebic cyst. The cyst is the inactive, resistant stage in which the ameba is transmitted from one host to another; the active form is that which causes damage. Both cysts and active amebas are excreted in the feces of an infected person, but only the cysts are hardy enough to survive outside the body. A person recovering from the infection, or one with an inactive case, passes mostly cysts; such a person is a more likely source of contamination than one with an active case. When cysts are ingested with contaminated food or water they are transformed in the intestine into active amebas. If these remain within the lumen of the intestine they are relatively innocuous, but if they invade the intestinal wall they cause ulceration, dysentery, and usually pain. In severe cases the resulting dehydration may lead to prostration.

Amebic dysentery may occur in acute or chronic form. In prolonged infections the amebas may invade the blood vessels of the intestine and be carried to other parts of the body, where they cause amebic abcesses. Abcesses of the liver and brain are especially dangerous; destruction of liver tissue is the most frequent complication of amebic dysentery. Infection by amebas, whether of the intestine alone or of other parts of the body, is called amebiasis. Infections are diagnosed by finding cysts or active amebas in the feces. However, the disease is easily misdiagnosed for several reasons. Entamoeba histolytica may be harbored without causing symptoms (although it may be passed on and cause the disease in others); it is easily confused with harmless amebas of the human intestine, especially Entamoeba coli; it commonly coexists with bacteria that may in some cases be the cause of the symptoms.

A combination of drugs is generally used to treat amebic dysentery: an amebicide (metronidazole or tinidazole) to eliminate the organism from the intestinal tract, an antibiotic to eradicate associated bacterial infection, and a drug to combat infection of the liver and other tissues. Preventive measures include the protection of water supplies from contamination and the washing of hands by food handlers.


Health Dictionary: dysentery
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(dis-uhn-ter-ee)

A painful disease of the intestines characterized by inflammation and diarrhea. Dysentery may be caused by bacteria or viruses, or may occur as the result of infestation by an amoeba.

  • Dysentery can be transmitted by contact with water or food that has been contaminated by human waste. Public health and sanitation procedures in developed countries, however, have largely eliminated this means of transmission.

  • Veterinary Dictionary: dysentery
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    Any of a number of disorders marked by inflammation of the intestine, especially of the colon, with abdominal pain, tenesmus, and frequent stools often containing blood and mucus. The causative agent may be chemical irritants, bacteria, protozoa, viruses or parasitic worms.
    See also lamb dysentery, swine dysentery, winter dysentery, coccidiosis, salmonellosis, canine parvovirus, colitis-X, trichuriasis, entamoeba histolytica infection.

    Word Tutor: dysentery
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    pronunciation

    IN BRIEF: n. - An infection of the intestines marked by severe diarrhea.

    Tutor's tip: They had to "disinter" (to remove a body from a grave) the body to determine whether the cause of death was "dysentery" (a serious disease of the lower intestine) or cancer.

    Translations: Dysentery
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    Dansk (Danish)
    n. - dysenteri

    Nederlands (Dutch)
    dysenterie, bloeddiarree

    Français (French)
    n. - dysenterie

    Deutsch (German)
    n. - (med.) Ruhr

    Ελληνική (Greek)
    n. - δυσεντερία

    Italiano (Italian)
    dissenteria

    Português (Portuguese)
    n. - disenteria (f) (Med.)

    Русский (Russian)
    дизентерия

    Español (Spanish)
    n. - disentería

    Svenska (Swedish)
    n. - dysenteri

    中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
    痢疾

    中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
    n. - 痢疾

    한국어 (Korean)
    n. - 이질

    日本語 (Japanese)
    n. - 赤痢

    العربيه (Arabic)
    ‏(الاسم) مرض الدزنتاريا, مرض الزحار‏

    עברית (Hebrew)
    n. - ‮מחלה דלקתית במעיים, בורדם, דיזנטריה‬


     
     

     

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    Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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    Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
    Health Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
    Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
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