medical mumbo jumbo
obscure medical jargon--
a med school perk
Newest entry:
floccillation
[flok-si-lay-shun]
n. an aimless plucking at the bedclothes,
as if one were picking off threads or tufts of cotton
[SYN: carphologia, carphology, crocidismus]
Other entries:
abulia -- n. loss or impairment of the ability to perform voluntary actions or to make decisions
acmesthesia -- n. sensitivity to pinprick
affinons -- n. pertaining to a marriage in which the partners are related, not by consanguinity, but through another marriage
agerasia -- n. an appearance of youth in old age
alopecia -- (OK, this is not terribly obscure) n. [pron. al-ih-PEE-shuh] balness, whether partial or complete
amaxophobia -- n. rarely used term for morbid fear of, or riding in, a vehicle
arenicolous -- adj. [zoological term] living in the sand
boluliform -- adj. shaped like a sausage
borborygmus -- n. rumbling or gurgling noises produced by movement of gas in the alimentary canal and audible at a distance
cacogeusia -- n. [kak-oh-GOO-see-uh] a bad taste
cutis anserina -- n. (goose flesh, goose bumps) contraction of the arretores pilorum produced by cold, fear, or other stimulus, causing the follicular orifices to become prominent
encopresis -- n. the repeated, generally involuntary passage of feces into inappropriate places (e.g. clothing); considered a mental disorder if > 4 years old
ergasomania/ergasophobia -- n. morbid or excessive need to work/aversion to work of any kind
formication -- n. a tactile hallucination involving the belief that something is crawling on the body or under the skin
hypertrichophrydia -- n. having excessively thick eyebrows
nosology -- n. the science of classification of diseases
onlomania -- n. rarely used term for the morbidly exaggerated need or urge to buy beyond the realistic needs of the individual
priapus -- n. penis
psomophagia -- n. the practice of swallowing food without thorough mastication
scrofula -- n. (adj.: scrofulous, meaning morally corrupt) tuberculosis of the lymph nodes, esp. the neck, or to be afflicted with the above
symmetry failure -- (a recent addition to the language) n. the accidental amputation of the wrong limb
trichotillomania -- n. a compulsion to pull out one's hair
Source: Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 26th ed., Webster's (as in "Cool Words") or NPR.
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