Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A chronic disease of adults marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw that is caused by overactivity of the pituitary gland.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A disease characterized by hypertrophy of the bones and soft tissues of the face and extremities.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) Chronic enlargement of the extremities and face.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pathology A chronic disease marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw that is caused by over-activity of the pituitary gland.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun enlargement of bones of hands and feet and face; often accompanied by headache and muscle pain and emotional disturbances; caused by overproduction of growth hormone by the anterior pituitary gland (due to a tumor)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French acromégalie : Greek akron, top, extremity (from neuter of akros, extreme; see acro–) + Greek megas, megal-, big; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French acromégalie, from New Latin acromegalia, from Ancient Greek ἄκρον (akron, "tip, extremity") and μέγας (megas, "large"). acro- + -megaly

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Examples

  • The frequency of glycosuria or diabetes in acromegaly has been reported many times; Atkinson found it in

    Bernardo Houssay - Nobel Lecture 1964

  • It is possible that in acromegaly, in some stages of the disease there may be a hypophyseal diabetes and at others a metahypophyseal diabetes.

    Bernardo Houssay - Nobel Lecture 1964

  • In the disease called acromegaly, which is due to a change in the pituitary gland, amongst other things are noted ` ` melancholic tendencies, loss of memory and mental and physical torpor. ''

    The Foundations of Personality 1921

  • This parallelled his true situation, where he had a normal face until being exposed to poison gas during WWI, which triggered the onset of the head-enlarging syndrome known as acromegaly.

    Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D.: Intriguing Factoids From the Horror/Sci-Fi/Mystery Genre Ph.D. Dr. Franklin Ruehl 2011

  • This parallelled his true situation, where he had a normal face until being exposed to poison gas during WWI, which triggered the onset of the head-enlarging syndrome known as acromegaly.

    Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D.: Intriguing Factoids From the Horror/Sci-Fi/Mystery Genre Ph.D. Dr. Franklin Ruehl 2011

  • Hatton died with his last picture, 1946's THE BRUTE MAN, still awaiting release -- the victim of a bone-distorting pituitary disease called acromegaly, which had also been responsible for his distorted features.

    Archive 2008-04-06 2008

  • Hatton died with his last picture, 1946's THE BRUTE MAN, still awaiting release -- the victim of a bone-distorting pituitary disease called acromegaly, which had also been responsible for his distorted features.

    Fred Lightner: Another Rondo Hatton? 2008

  • They should note what happens in the disease called acromegaly, a condition of too much growth hormone.

    Baseball and Growth Hormones: Big Muscles, Big Bodies, Big Trouble 2007

  • I wonder if Kerry suffered from a mild case of the pituitary problem called acromegaly that causes bones to keep growing.

    Archive 2005-06-05 Steve Sailer 2005

  • I wonder if Kerry suffered from a mild case of the pituitary problem called acromegaly that causes bones to keep growing.

    John F. Kerry's plastic surgery Steve Sailer 2005

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