Scrofula

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈskɹɒfjʊlə/

Definitions

1. A medical condition involving inflammation and enlargement of the lymphatic glands often associated with tuberculosis
2. It describes a form of chronic infection primarily affecting lymph nodes and causing significant swelling
3. A long-lasting disease marked by swollen lymph nodes due to bacterial infection

Etymology: The disease takes its name from pigs. In Latin, "scrofa" meant a breeding sow, and "scrofulae" is its diminutive, so the name amounts to "little sows." Ancient physicians believed swine were especially prone to the complaint, and the swollen glands in the neck, which look like little lumps under the skin, were sometimes likened to a litter of piglets. Whichever explanation is right, the word was borrowed directly from Latin into English, with the Latin form carried over almost unchanged. Medical writers used it for the chronic tuberculosis of lymph nodes that was once common in children, a condition now usually called scrofuloderma or tuberculous lymphadenitis when described precisely.