Petit mal
A form of epilepsy with very brief, unannounced lapses in consciousness. A Petit mal seizure involves a brief loss of awareness, which can be accompanied by blinking or mouth twitching. Petit mal seizures have a very characteristic appearance on an electroencephalogram (EEG). Petit mal (little illness in French) seizures are also known as absence seizures. Petit mal seizures take the form of a staring spell: the person suddenly seems to be “absent.”
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pe·tit mal 'pet-ē-.mal, -.mäl n epilepsy characterized by absence seizures
also absence seizure
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(pə-teґ) [Fr. “small sicknessâ€] absence epilepsy.
Medical dictionary.
2011.