The state of being aware, or perceiving physical facts or mental concepts; a state of general wakefulness and responsiveness to environment; a functioning sensorium. [L. con-scio, to know, to be aware of]
- clouding of c. a state in which the patient's mental state is clouded and thus not fully in contact with the environment.
- double c. a condition in which one lives in two seemingly unrelated mental states, being, while in one, unaware of the other or of the acts performed in the other. SEE ALSO: dual personality.
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con·scious·ness 'kän-chə-snəs n
1) the totality in psychology of sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes, and feelings of which an individual or a group is aware at any given time or within a given time span <altered states of \consciousness, such as sleep, dreaming and hypnosis (Bob Gaines)>
2) waking life (as that to which one returns after sleep, trance, or fever) in which one's normal mental powers are present <the ether wore off and the patient regained \consciousness>
3) the upper part of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes
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con·scious·ness (konґshəs-nəs) 1. the state of being conscious, fully alert, aware, oriented, and responsive to the environment; having a clear or intact sensorium. 2. subjective awareness of the aspects of cognitive processing and the content of the mind. 3. the current totality of experience of which an individual or group is aware at any time. 4. in psychoanalysis, the conscious.Medical dictionary. 2011.