Acidurias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A metabolic disorder characterized by the presence of excessive acids or abnormal acid levels in the urine
2. A medical condition that results from an imbalance in metabolic processes leading to an abnormal composition of urinary acids
3. A health issue where the urinary excretion of organic acids is significantly elevated, often indicating underlying metabolic disturbances

Etymology: "Acidurias" is the plural of "aciduria", a medical term for urine containing an abnormally high level of organic acids. The plural form simply reflects that several distinct conditions fall under this heading, each with its own metabolic cause. The word is built from two parts. "Acid" comes from Latin "acidus", meaning sour, which describes the sharp taste of substances like vinegar. The suffix "-uria" comes from Greek "ouron", meaning urine, and appears in many clinical terms such as "glycosuria" (sugar in the urine) and "proteinuria" (protein in the urine). Joined together, the pieces describe exactly what is measured: acids passing out in the urine.