neuropathy

DEFINITION of neuropathy

Neuropathy (often used synonymously with peripheral neuropathy) refers to a group of conditions in which nerves outside the brain and spinal cord malfunction because their axons, myelin, or cell bodies are injured or diseased. This nerve injury disrupts normal electrical signaling, so patients experience positive symptoms (burning pain, electric shocks, tingling, hypersensitivity) and negative symptoms (numbness, loss of vibration, weakness, reduced reflexes). Neuropathy can affect:

• Sensory fibers, causing pain, paresthesias, numbness, or loss of proprioception.
  • Motor fibers, causing distal weakness, atrophy, fasciculations, gait disturbance, or foot drop.
• Autonomic fibers, causing orthostatic hypotension, abnormal sweating, GI or bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, or pupillary changes. From a pattern standpoint, neuropathy may present as a length‑dependent, symmetric “stocking-glove” polyneuropathy, focal mononeuropathy, multifocal mononeuropathy, or proximal neuropathy, each with different etiologic considerations. Major causes include diabetes, alcohol use, nutritional deficiencies (especially B12), autoimmune disease, infections, toxins and medications (notably chemotherapy), hereditary neuropathies, trauma, and idiopathic forms where no clear cause is identified.

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ETYMOLOGY of neuropathy

greek “neuropathy” breaks down into the combining form “neuro-” (nerve) and the suffix “-pathy” (disease, suffering), both ultimately from Greek. • neuro‑: from Greek neuron meaning “sinew, tendon, nerve,” used in medical terms to indicate nerves or the nervous system. • ‑pathy: from Greek ‑patheia meaning “suffering, feeling, disease, condition,” used to denote a disorder or disease process. So neuropathy literally means a “nerve disease” or “condition of the nerves,” matching its modern medical sense of nerve damage or dysfunction.

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DERIVATIONS of neuropathy

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Query functionality

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Med roots Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms