You searched for: “chorea
chorea (s) (noun), choreas; choreae; choreƦ (pl)
1. A circular dance in Ancient Greece that was accompanied by a chorus: Sandra read about choreas in her book and wanted to have her school choir and dance clubs get together to act out such a chorea.
2. In pathology, one of different diseases of the nervous system: Typically, chorea is described as having involuntary muscular movements of the face and limbs.
(Greek: dance; involuntary movements; spasm; in medicine, it is used to reveal a nervous disorder either of organic origin or from an infection)
Word Entries containing the term: “chorea
electrolepsy, electric chorea
1. A type of chorea characterized by a continuous sequence of sudden, violent, rapid, jerky movements that appear synchronized but are involuntary.

Chorea consists of jerky spasmodic movements of the limbs, trunk, and facial muscles, common to various diseases of the central nervous system.

2. A progressively fatal spasmodic disorder, possibly of malarial origin, occurring chiefly in Italy.

It is a severe form of Sydenham's chorea, in which the spasms are rapid and of a specially rapid, jerky character.

Sydenham's chorea is a neurological disease of children and pregnant women, sometimes following rheumatic fever, in which those affected experience involuntary jerking movements of the body and it is also defined as an acute neurologic disorder that emerges several months following a streptococcal ("strep") infection.

It is named after Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689), English physician.

This entry is located in the following units: electro-, electr-, electri- (page 34) -lepsy, -lepsia, -lepsis, -leptic (page 1)