Elephantiasis
| Elephantiasis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Elephantiasis of the legs due to filariasis. | |
| Specialty | Infectious disease, general surgery |
| Symptoms | Swelling of the skin |
Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling.[1][2] It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels.[2] It may affect the genitalia.[2] The term elephantiasis is often used in reference to (symptoms caused by) parasitic worm infections,[1][2] but may refer to a variety of diseases where parts of a person's body swell to massive proportions.[2]
Cause
Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include:
- Elephantiasis nostras, due to longstanding chronic lymphangitis
- Elephantiasis tropica (known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly Wuchereria bancrofti. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected.[3]
- Nonfilarial elephantiasis (or podoconiosis), an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels
- Leishmaniasis[2]
- Elephantiasis, Grade 3 lymphedema which may occur in people with breast cancer[4]
- Genital elephantiasis, end result of lymphogranuloma venereum
- Proteus syndrome, a genetic disorder best known as the condition possibly suffered by Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man."
Other causes may include:
- Repeated streptococcal infection[2]
- Lymphadenectomy[2]
- Hereditary birth defects[2]
- Pretibial myxedema
References
- 1 2 "Definition of ELEPHANTIASIS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28
- ↑ Carlson, Emily (27 March 2013). "Taking the 'Bite' Out of Vector-Borne Diseases - Inside Life Science Series - National Institute of General Medical Sciences". publications.nigms.nih.gov. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ "Lymphedema". National Cancer Institute. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
External links
- "Lymphatic filariasis". World Health Organization. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
This article is issued from Offline. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.