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MYOSIS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: myoses
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Reflex contraction of the sphincter muscle of the iris in response to a bright light (or certain drugs) causing the pupil to become smaller
Synonyms:
light reflex; miosis; myosis; pupillary reflex
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("myosis" is a kind of...):
inborn reflex; innate reflex; instinctive reflex; physiological reaction; reflex; reflex action; reflex response; unconditioned reflex (an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus)
Derivation:
myotic (of or relating to or causing constriction of the pupil of the eye)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An acute infectious disease occurring in epidemic form and featuring paroxysms of pain (usually in the chest)
Synonyms:
Bornholm disease; diaphragmatic pleurisy; epidemic myalgia; epidemic pleurodynia; myosis
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("myosis" is a kind of...):
epidemic disease (any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people)
