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idiopathic

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

id·i·o·path·ic

(ĭd'ē-ə-păth'ĭk, ĭd'ē-ō-) pronunciation
adj.
Of, relating to, or designating a disease having no known cause.

idiopathically id'i·o·path'i·cal·ly adv.

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Applied to a disease or condition the cause of which is not known.

Obscure Words:

idiopathic

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from an unknown cause
  1. (in pathology) describing a disease arising by itself, not consequent upon, or symptomatic of, another disease; of the nature of a primary morbid state; essential.
  2. of the nature of a particular affection or susceptibility.
idiopathy n.

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Self-originated; occurring without known cause.

(id″e-o-path'ik)
adj

Without apparent cause; of unknown origin.

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categories related to 'idiopathic'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to idiopathic, see:
  • Diagnostic Terminology - idiopathic: (adj) describing condition of unknown cause or one that develops spontaneously


Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Idiopathic

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Idiopathic is an adjective used primarily in medicine meaning arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause. From Greek ἴδιος, idios (one's own) + πάθος, pathos (suffering), it means approximately "a disease of its own kind". It is technically a term from nosology, the classification of disease. For some medical conditions, one or more causes are somewhat understood, but in a certain percentage of people with the condition, the cause may not be readily apparent or characterized. In these cases, the origin of the condition is said to be idiopathic.

With some medical conditions, the medical community cannot establish a root cause for a large percentage of all cases (for example, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or ankylosing spondylitis, the majority of which are idiopathic);[1] with other conditions, however, idiopathic cases account for a small percentage (for example, pulmonary fibrosis).[2] As medical and scientific advances are made with relation to a particular condition or disease, more root causes are discovered, and the percentage of cases designated as idiopathic decreases.

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In his book The Human Body, Isaac Asimov noted a comment about the term idiopathic made in the 20th edition of Stedman's Medical Dictionary: "A high-flown term to conceal ignorance".[3]

In the American television show House, the title character remarks that the word is "from the Latin, meaning: 'We're idiots 'cause we can't figure out what's causing it.' "[4]

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American Heritage 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
Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd Read more
 Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry. Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.  Read more
Saunders 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
Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Idiopathic Read more