ATROPHY (atrophied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: atrophied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does atrophy mean? 

• ATROPHY (noun)
  The noun ATROPHY has 2 senses:

1. a decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse

2. any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use)

  Familiarity information: ATROPHY used as a noun is rare.

• ATROPHY (verb)
  The verb ATROPHY has 1 sense:

1. undergo atrophy

  Familiarity information: ATROPHY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATROPHY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

atrophy; wasting; wasting away

Hypernyms ("atrophy" is a kind of...):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "atrophy"):

amyotrophia; amyotrophy (progressive wasting of muscle tissues)

tabes (wasting of the body during a chronic disease)

kraurosis (atrophy and shriveling of the skin or mucous membrane)

Derivation:

atrophy (undergo atrophy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

atrophy; withering

Hypernyms ("atrophy" is a kind of...):

weakening (becoming weaker)

Derivation:

atrophy (undergo atrophy)

• ATROPHY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they atrophy    ... he / she / it atrophies   
Past simple: atrophied   
Past participle: atrophied   
-ing form: atrophying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Undergo atrophy

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

Muscles that are not used will atrophy

Hypernyms (to "atrophy" is one way to...):

shrink; shrivel; shrivel up; wither (wither, as with a loss of moisture)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody's (body part) ----s

Derivation:

atrophy (any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use))

atrophy (a decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse)

 Context examples 

Affected individuals may present with sleep disturbances, personality changes, ATAXIA; APHASIA, visual loss, weakness, muscle atrophy, MYOCLONUS, progressive dementia, and death within one year of disease onset.

(Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Degenerative nerve diseases include: • Alzheimer's disease • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis • Friedreich's ataxia • Huntington's disease • Lewy body disease • Parkinson's disease • Spinal muscular atrophy

(Degenerative Nerve Diseases, NIH)

The disease is associated with a complement mediated intramuscular microangiopathy, leading to loss of capillaries, muscle ischemia, muscle-fiber necrosis, and perifascicular atrophy.

(Dermatomyositis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It is characterized histologically by atrophy of mucosal villi and crypts with extensive subepithelial collagen deposition.

(Collagenous Sprue, NCI Thesaurus)

These abnormalities include iris atrophy, decreased corneal endothelium, iris nodules, adhesion of the iris to the lens and glaucoma.

(Cogan-Reese Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called: Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, Peroneal muscular atrophy

(Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

A rare, X-linked inherited disorder characterized by choroid atrophy and retinal degeneration.

(Choroideremia, NCI Thesaurus)

An X chromosome-linked abnormality characterized by atrophy of the choroid and degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium causing night blindness.

(Choroideremia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It is characterized by the presence of discoid skin plaques showing varying degrees of edema, erythema, scaliness, follicular plugging, and skin atrophy.

(Discoid Lupus Erythematosus, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It is characterized by rapidly progressing muscle weakness and muscle atrophy initially involving the lower extremities and eventually affecting the whole body.

(Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, NCI Thesaurus)