Syndrome

views updated Jun 08 2018

Syndrome

A syndrome is a collection of signs, symptoms, and other indications which, taken together, characterize a particular disease or abnormal medical condition. Medical workers place a heavy reliance on the collection of such indicators in the diagnosis of health problems and disorders.

The usual approach is to question patients about the nature of their complaints and then to conduct examinations and tests suggested by these reports. The collection of data resulting from the verbal report and clinical examination may then fall into a pattern a syndromethat makes it possible for the physician to predict the disorder responsible for the patients problems. That diagnosis, in turn, may lead to a course of therapy designed to deal with the problem.

As an example, a patient may complain to a physician of headaches, visual problems, and difficulty in breathing when lying down. Clinical examination may then indicate a dilation of veins in the upper part of the chest and neck with collection of fluid in the region around the eyes. An experienced physician may recognize this collection of symptoms as an indication of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, an obstruction of venous drainage.

Hundreds of syndromes are now recognized by medical authorities. Indeed, a specific dictionary (Dictionary of Medical Syndromes, by Sergio I. Magalini, J. B. Lippincott Company) has been published to summarize and describe the named syndromes.

syndrome

views updated May 18 2018

syn·drome / ˈsinˌdrōm/ • n. a group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms: a rare syndrome in which the production of white blood cells is damaged. ∎  a characteristic combination of opinions, emotions, or behavior: the “Not In My Backyard” syndrome.DERIVATIVES: syn·drom·ic / sinˈdrämik/ adj.ORIGIN: mid 16th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek sundromē, from sun- ‘together’ + dramein ‘to run.’

Syndrome

views updated May 21 2018

Syndrome

A syndrome is a collection of signs, symptoms, and other indications which, taken together, characterize a particular disease or abnormal medical condition. Medical workers place a heavy reliance on the collection of such indicators in the diagnosis of health problems and disorders.

The usual approach is to question patients about the nature of their complaints and then to conduct examinations and tests suggested by these reports. The collection of data resulting from the verbal report and clinical examination may then fall into a pattern—a syndrome—that makes it possible for the physician to predict the disorder responsible for the patient's problems. That diagnosis, in turn, may lead to a course of therapy designed to deal with the problem.

As an example, a patient may complain to a physician of headaches, visual problems, and difficulty in breathing when lying down. Clinical examination may then indicate a dilation of veins in the upper part of the chest and neck with collection of fluid in the region around the eyes. An experienced physician may recognize this collection of symptoms as an indication of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, an obstruction of venous drainage.

Hundreds of syndromes are now recognized by medical authorities. Indeed, a specific dictionary (Dictionary of Medical Syndromes, by Sergio I. Magalini, J. B. Lippincott Company) has been published to summarize and describe the named syndromes.

syndrome

views updated Jun 08 2018

syndrome In coding theory, a symbol vector (ordered set of symbols) generated at an intermediate stage of the decoding algorithm for an error-correcting code. The syndrome depends only on the error pattern and not on the transmitted codeword. A further stage of the decoding algorithm will use the syndrome to correct the errors in the received message. The details of how the syndrome is found and how it is used, and indeed whether all the errors can be corrected, will depend on the particular error-correcting code that is being employed. If no errors occurred, the syndrome will usually be the zero word.

syndrome

views updated May 23 2018

syndrome (path.) concurrence of symptoms XVI; †concurrence, concourse XVII. — Gr. sundromḗ, f. SYN- + *drom-, drameîn run.

syndrome

views updated May 21 2018

syndrome (sin-drohm) n. a combination of signs and/or symptoms that forms a distinct clinical picture indicative of a particular disorder.