Phthisis
A good trivia or crossword item. A Greek word meaning "a dwindling or wasting away." Pronounced "thi-sis." The tongue-twisting name "nephronophthisis" is derived from "nephron" + "phthisis." The nephron is the fundamental functional unit in the kidney and includes the renal tubule and glomerulus. In nephronophthisis the kidney is progressively destroyed and the child wastes away. Phthisis is an archaic name for tuberculosis. A person afflicted with tuberculosis in the old days was destined to dwindle and waste away like Mimi, the heroine of Puccini's 1896 opera "La Bohčme."
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phthi·sis 't(h)ī-səs, 't(h)is-əs n,
pl phthi·ses 't(h)ī-.sēz, 't(h)is-.ēz a progressively wasting or consumptive condition
esp pulmonary tuberculosis
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n.
1. any disease resulting in wasting of tissues.
Phthisis bulbi is a shrunken eyeball that has lost its function due to disease or damage.
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phthi·sis (thiґsis) (tiґsis) [Gr. phthisis, from phthiein to decay] a wasting away of the body or a part of the body.
Medical dictionary.
2011.