aesth-, esth-, aesthe-, esthe-, aesthesio-, esthesio-, aesthesia-, -esthesia, -aesthetic, -esthetic, -aesthetical, -esthetical, -aesthetically, -esthetically

(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception)

crymoanesthesia (s) (noun), crymoanesthesias (pl)
The freezing of the skin with ice, carbon dioxide snow, or the evaporation of ethyl chloride: The process of crymoanesthesia is used to prepare the skin for the surgical excision of superficial tumors, incisions, and drainage.

Dr. Johnson, the dermatologist, preferred to use the least intrusive procedures when removing warts, etc. from the skin, so he administered a crymoanesthesia.

cryoanesthesia (noun), cryoanesthesias (pl)
A local loss of sensation that is produced by applying a tourniquet and chilling an area to a near-freezing temperature: Cryoanesthesia is used to diminish the neural sensitivity to pain during brief minor surgical procedures.
cryptesthesia, cryptaesthesia (s) (noun); cryptesthesias; cryptaesthesias (pl)
1. The power of perceiving without a sensory mechanism; clairvoyance: Mike, the magician, used his powers of cryptesthesia to fool the audience into believing that he knew their secrets.
2. A general term for clairvoyance, clairaudience, and other types of paranormal cognition in which the sensory stimulus is unknown: In the darkened room, Ms. Arcotti was experiencing cryptesthesia as she sensed a shiver going down her spine because she was convinced there were spirits in the room.
cryptesthetic (adjective), more cryptesthetic, most cryptesthetic
A reference to a subconscious perception of occurrences not ordinarily perceptible to the physical senses: Clairvoyance, or the power of discerning objects or matters not present in the normal senses, is an example of cryptesthetic experiences claimed by some people.
dermatesthesia (s) (noun), dermatesthesias (pl)
A condition whereby people have abnormally sensitive skins: Babies always seem to have dermatesthesia since their skin is so soft and tender.

There are some adults who suffer from dermatesthesias and who have to be very careful about sunburns and other potential discomforts or ailments.

digitalgia paresthetica (s) (noun), digitalgia parestheticas (pl)
Pain and numbness which is usually restricted to the distribution of a single digital nerve: If Mary lifts her left arm above her head, she notices a bit of digitalgia parenthetic in her left hand as she experiences numbness in her left thumb.

dysesthesia (s) (noun), dysesthesias (pl)
1. Abnormal sensations on the skin, such as a feeling of numbness, tingling, prickling (as if with pins and needles), burning, or cutting pain: When Mildred sleeps on one of her arms, she sometimes wakes up with dysesthesia which involves arm tingles and she suspects that such feelings are caused by a pinched nerve.
2. A difficulty or derangement of sensation, or of any bodily senses; also applied to a class of diseases of which this is a symptom: The hospital team diagnosed Sarina as having dysesthesia because of the range of neurological symptoms which she was experiencing.
3. Abnormal sensations experienced with the absence of any stimulations: Mike was upset by the unusual dysesthesias he was feeling on his left arm and so he went to see a neurologist.
4. An unusual distortion of the sense of touch: As a result of the dysesthesia which he had developed, Oscar noticed that even the soft velvet cushion on the chair felt hard and scratchy.

Dysesthesia may be caused by some abnormal organic or mental conditions.

dysthermesthesia (s) (noun), dysthermesthesias (pl)
A disorder of the sense of temperature or heat perception: Because of the dysthermesthesia which had developed, Mary was unable to detect heat on surfaces and had to be very careful when working in the kitchen.
electroanesthesia, electrical anesthesia (s) (noun); electroanaesthesias; electrical anaesthesias (pl)
A general elimination of pain produced by an apparatus that passes electricity of a certain frequency, amplitude, and a wave density through the brain: Dr. Anderson used electroanesthesia while he was removing warts from Lina's feet.
enteroesthesia (s) (noun), enteroesthesias (pl)
A condition of having a sensitive digestive tract: Babies often experience enteroesthesia when they are adjusting to solid foods in their diet.
ergoesthesiograph (s) (noun), ergoesthesiographs (pl)
An instrument for recording the amount of work done during muscular activity: When jogging, Yvonne wore an ergoesthesiograph which monitored her speed and endurance for long distance runs.

Other terms that have the same meaning as ergoesthesiograph include "ergometer" and "ergograph".

esthematology (s) (noun), esthematologies (pl)
The science of the senses, the sense organs, and their functions: During her training to be a neurologist, Jennifer enrolled in several classes that taught about esthematology so she could understand the bodily organ senses more precisely.
esthesic (adjective), more esthesic, most esthesic
Pertaining to the mental perception of sensations or the existence of any part of the body: As an artist, Ms. Cooper used her esthetic senses to create a mental image of herself when she was doing a self-portrait.
esthesioderma (s) (noun), esthesiodermas (pl)
A skin disorder associated with sensory abnormalities: The red blotches on Mona's face appeared to be caused by esthesioderma and were associated with irritated nerves.
esthesiodic, aesthesiodic (adjective); more esthesiodic, most esthesiodic; more aesthesiodic, most aesthesiodic
1. Providing, conducting, or referring to a path for sensory impulses: The esthesiodic channels in Mark's nervous system were injured during the car crash.
2. Conveying sensations from the external organs to the brain or nerve centers: The esthesiodic nerve endings in Iva's fingers let her know when she was touching hot or cold surfaces.

Arrow pointing to words and info sections The index of anesthesia history, Parts 1, 2, and 3.


Quiz If you would like to take self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this thematic unit, then click on this Aesthesia, Esthesia Quizzes link, or the button, so you can see how much you know about some of these aesth-, esth- words.

Related-word units meaning feeling: senso-; pass-, pati-; patho-.