sclerosis n : any pathological hardening or thickening of tissue [syn: induration] [also: scleroses (pl)]

English

Noun

1. The abnormal hardening of body tissues, such as an artery.

Derived terms

• arteriosclerosis
• sclerotic
• multiple sclerosis

Translations

• French: sclérose

Sclerosis or sclerotization is a hardening of tissue and other anatomical features

In medicine

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis sometimes known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive, incurable, usually fatal disease of motor neurons. Scientist Stephen Hawking suffers from this disease
• Atherosclerosis, a deposit of fat in the arteries which causes hardening
• Hippocampal sclerosis, a brain damage often seen in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy
• Lichen sclerosus, a disease hardening and connecting flesh of the vagina and the penis of men and women. An autoimmune disorder
• Liver sclerosis, causes the inability of the liver to process and metabolize the female hormone and it causes the imbalance of male and female hormone and impotence
• Multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease which affects coordination
• Osteosclerosis, a condition where the bone density is significantly increased
• Otosclerosis, a disease of the ears
• Systemic sclerosis (progressive systemic scleroderma), a rare, chronic disease which affects the skin, and in some cases also blood vessels and internal organs
• Tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disease which affects multiple systems

In botany

• a process which hardens plant tissue by adding fibers and sclereids, resulting in sclerenchyma

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