Neurofibromatosis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hereditary genetic condition in which benign tumors develop along nerves and cause skin changes and other health problems
2. An inherited disorder of the nervous system that produces growths on nerve tissue and often spots on the skin
3. A genetic illness passed through families that leads to noncancerous nerve tumors and characteristic pigmented patches on the body

Etymology: Neurofibromatosis is a compound built from its parts rather than coined around a famous person or event. Its first element comes from Ancient Greek "neûron", meaning sinew or nerve, which gave modern English the combining form "neuro-". The second element, "fibro-", reflects the fibrous tissue that forms these growths, and the third, "-oma", is the Greek suffix for a tumour, as in "fibroma" and "neurofibroma". The final part, "-osis", is a suffix from Ancient Greek "-ōsis", used to form nouns of condition or disease. Its New Latin form entered English through medical writing, so the word means, in effect, a condition marked by many neurofibromas. Modern medicine, not classical antiquity, put these pieces together, and the term describes a hereditary disorder in which tumours grow along nerves and under the skin.

Synonyms: von Recklinghausen disease