phre·ni·tis

(frĭ-nī′tĭs)

1. Inflammation of the diaphragm.

2. Encephalitis. No longer in scientific use.

phre·nit′ic (-nĭt′ĭk) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

phrenitis

(frɪˈnaɪtɪs) or

phrenesis

1. (Pathology) another name for encephalitis

2. (Pathology) a state of frenzy; delirium

[C17: via Late Latin from Greek: delirium, from phrēn mind, diaphragm +-itis]

phrenitic adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

phrenitis - inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus; symptoms include headache and neck pain and drowsiness and nausea and fever (`phrenitis' is no longer in scientific use)

cephalitis, encephalitis

inflammation, redness, rubor - a response of body tissues to injury or irritation; characterized by pain and swelling and redness and heat

acute hemorrhagic encephalitis - encephalitis that resembles apoplexy due to blood extravasation

equine encephalitis, equine encephalomyelitis - encephalitis caused by a virus that is transmitted by a mosquito from an infected horse

acute inclusion body encephalitis, herpes encephalitis, herpes simplex encephalitis - common form of acute encephalitis caused by herpes simplex 1; usually affects the temporal and frontal lobes

leukoencephalitis - inflammation of the white matter of the brain

cerebromeningitis, encephalomeningitis, meningoencephalitis - inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and their meninges

panencephalitis - diffuse inflammation of the entire brain

encephalitis lethargica, epidemic encephalitis, lethargic encephalitis, sleeping sickness, sleepy sickness - an encephalitis that was epidemic between 1915 and 1926; symptoms include paralysis of the extrinsic eye muscle and extreme muscular weakness

West Nile encephalitis - encephalitis caused by the West Nile virus; can be fatal in humans and horses and birds

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References in periodicals archive

C.) phrenitis significaba "enfermedad del diafragma" y era un mal que cursaba con fuertes fiebres y muchas veces estaba asociado a la pulmonia por la simple razon de que diafragma y pulmon estan cercanos.

Diaphragm: Historical Path of the Term and its Anatomical and Functional Descriptions/ Diafragma: Trayectoria Historica del Termino y de sus Descripciones Anatomica y Funcional

(23) De Wind's descriptions display an understanding of various diseases, such as Krauagie (scabies), Spanish pox (third stage of syphilis), Angina or Benaauwde keel (acute pharyngitis), Dolor colicus ("obstruction of the intestinal tract," colic), Phrenitis (heat stroke), Febris biliosa (typhoid fever), Dysenteria (dysentery), Febris atrabilaria (yellow fever), Scorbutus (scurvy), and Febris maligna (typhus).

Ferdinand Dejean (1731-97): Surgeon of the Dutch East-India Company, Man of the Enlightenment, and Patron of Mozart

(One should also strengthen the heart of people suffering from [other types] of melancholy, phrenitis, and catalepsy (jumud); for strengthening the heart of these people strengthens them [more generally] and invigorates their souls; therefore your treatment will have a beneficial effect.) Thus, in addition to purging and diet, al-Tabari prescribes social intercourse and entertainment as treatment.

Al-Farabi, the melancholic thinker and philosopher poet