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DEGENERATION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Passing from a more complex to a simpler biological form
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("degeneration" is a kind of...):
shift; transformation; transmutation (a qualitative change)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "degeneration"):
abiotrophy (a loss of vitality and a degeneration of cells and tissues not due to any apparent injury)
cataplasia ((biology) degenerative reversion of cells or tissue to a less differentiated or more primitive form)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality
Synonyms:
degeneration; devolution
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("degeneration" is a kind of...):
physical process; process (a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "degeneration"):
attack (the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent))
obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete; falling into disuse or becoming out of date)
macular degeneration (eye disease caused by degeneration of the cells of the macula lutea and results in blurred vision; can cause blindness)
Derivation:
degenerate (grow worse)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
Synonyms:
decadence; decadency; degeneracy; degeneration
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("degeneration" is a kind of...):
abasement; abjection; degradation (a low or downcast state)
Derivation:
degenerate (grow worse)
Context examples:
These well-demarcated growths, more common in women than men and sometimes hereditary, may indicate elevated cholesterol levels in the blood or the fatty degeneration of the superficial fibers of the orbicularis muscle.
(Eyelid Xanthoma, NCI Thesaurus)
A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of the motor neurons of the central nervous system.
(Familial Amyloidosis, NCI Thesaurus)
A follicle believed to be formed by degeneration of suppressed chief cells.
(Parathyroid Gland Follicle, NCI Thesaurus)
Inflammation or degeneration of the peripheral motor nerves.
(Peripheral Motor Neuropathy, NCI Thesaurus)
A disorder characterized by inflammation or degeneration of the peripheral motor nerves.
(Peripheral Motor Neuropathy, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)
Inflammation or degeneration of the sensory nerves.
(Peripheral Sensory Neuropathy, NCI Thesaurus)
A rare, immune-mediated disorder characterized by cerebellar degeneration due to the presence of an often undetected malignancy (usually carcinoma or lymphoma) in an anatomic site other than the cerebellum.
(Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration, NCI Thesaurus)
A fibrous degeneration, cyst formation, and the presence of fibrous nodules in bone, usually due to HYPERPARATHYROIDISM.
(Osteitis Fibrosa Cystica, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Inflammation and fibrous degeneration of a muscle.
(Fibromyositis, NCI Thesaurus)
High incidence of retinal degeneration in animals over 10 months (von Sallman and Grimes 1972, 1974).
(OM, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)
