Acromegaly definition

ăkrō-mĕgə-lē
A chronic disorder caused by overproduction of human growth hormone usually by the pituitary gland, characterized by enlargement of the bones of the extremities and the skull and often by the development of complications such as diabetes, hypertension, and osteoarthritis.
noun
2
0
A chronic disease of adults marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw that is caused by overactivity of the pituitary gland.
noun
0
0
A disease in which there is enlargement of the bones of the head, hands, and feet, resulting from an overproduction of growth hormone that is caused, usually, by a tumor in the pituitary.
noun
0
0
(pathology) A chronic disease marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw that is caused by over-activity of the pituitary gland.
noun
0
0
Advertisement

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
acromegaly
Plural:
acromegalies

Origin of acromegaly

  • French acromégalie Greek akron top, extremity (from) (neuter of akros extreme acro–) Greek megas megal- big meg- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • French acromégalie, from New Latin acromegalia, from Ancient Greek ἄκρον (akron, “tip, extremity”) and μέγας (megas, “large”). acro- +‎ -megaly

    From Wiktionary

Acromegaly Sentence Examples

  • Acromegaly results when hGH is over-produced after the onset of puberty.

  • In acromegaly, the pituitary continues to release GH and ignores signals from the hypothalamus.

  • Somatostatin analogs, given as injections, are successful in treating acromegaly by inhibiting the release of GH.

  • In adults, too much GH causes a condition called acromegaly, but deficiency in adults had been considered previously to have no importance.

  • The somatotropin test also aids in documenting the excess hGH production responsible for gigantism or acromegaly, and confirms underactivity or overproduction of the pituitary gland (hypopituitarism or hyperpituitarism, respectively).

More sentences

Related articles

Words near acromegaly in the Dictionary