ede-, edema-, oedema-
(Greek: swell, swelling)
Angioneurotic oedema refers to an acute or recurring attack of transient oedema suddenly appearing in areas of the skin or mucous membranes and occasionally of the viscera, often associated with dermatographism, urticaria, erythema, and purpura.
It can produce dramatic swelling of the subcutaneous tissues (welts beneath the skin) that typically appears around the eyes and lips.
Welts may also involve the hands, feet and throat (compromise the airway). This condition is associated with allergies (for example foods, pollen), but may also be a side effect of some medications (for example ACE inhibitors, salicylates).
Emotional stress, exposure to cold, water, sunlight, heat and insect bites all have been know to cause angioneurotic oedema. Treatment is with adrenaline, antihistamines, cimetidine, and/or corticosteroids.
Oedema is the presence of abnormally large amounts of fluid in the intercellular tissue spaces of the body, usually applied to demonstrable accumulation of excessive fluid in the subcutaneous tissues.
2. Chronic swelling, usually of the lower extremities, particularly in middle-aged women, caused by the widespread even distribution of subcutaneous fat and fluid.
2. A chronic swelling of the legs that is associated with abundant subcutaneous fat. Also known as cellulite.
2. A dry, waxy type of swelling (nonpitting edema) with abnormal deposits of mucin (complex protein present in mucus) in the skin (mucinosis, condition in which mucin is present in the skin in excessive amounts, or in abnormal distribution) and other tissues, associated with hypothyroidism.
The facial changes are distinctive, with swollen lips and thickened nose.
The optic nerve head, also called the optic disk or papilla, is the area where the optic nerve (the nerve that carries messages from the eye to the brain) enters the eyeball.
The finding of papilledema is made with the ophthalmoscope (the instrument that shines light through the pupil illuminating the retina while the doctor looks through it).
The optic nerve head is abnormally elevated in papilledema, almost always in both eyes.
The causes of papilledema include cerebral edema (swelling of the brain, as from encephalitis or trauma), tumors and other lesions that occupy space within the skull, increased production of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), decreased resorption of CSF (because of venous sinus thrombosis, meningitis, or subarachnoid hemorrhage), obstruction of the ventricular system within the brain, hydrocephalus, craniosynostosis (premature closure of the sutures of the skull), and a condition called pseudotumor cerebri.