#pathology

• The state of being abandoned — A psychoanalytic and clinical concept designating the totality of internal feelings, affective complexes, and structural personality changes installed in an individual as a direct consequence of early desertion. It refers not merely to the external act, but to the internal psychic reality internalized by the patient, defined by a constant vulnerability to rejection.
• Abandonic — Exhibiting a pathological complex or fear of abandonment; relating to neurotic or defensive behaviors triggered by the fear of being left. An abandonic structure (or abandonic personality) tends to develop an anxious-dependent attachment, displaying extreme possessiveness or, conversely, a tendency to preemptively break off relationships for fear of being rejected.
• Abandonic individual — A person suffering from an abandonment complex and whose interpersonal relationships are dominated by a pathological fear of being left or rejected. In clinical settings, an abandonic individual frequently exhibits dysfunctional defense mechanisms, such as relational self-sabotage, extreme possessiveness, or constant demands for emotional reassurance.
• Abandonic woman / individual — The feminine form for the adjective or noun abandonic; a woman marked by an anxious hypersensitivity to separation or early desertions. In couples therapy, an abandonic structure requires interventions focused on strengthening Ego autonomy and establishing healthy interpersonal boundaries to temper the fear of rejection.
• Abbas textbook of immunology — In a medical and academic context, the term refers to Dr. Abul K. Abbas, an internationally renowned pathologist and immunologist, co-author of the landmark textbook 'Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease' and 'Cellular and Molecular Immunology'. His name is synonymous with core teaching models of cellular immunology, immune tolerance, and T-cell activation.
• Abdication — The act or process by which a person formally relinquishes a right, an administrative function, or a legal responsibility, analyzed in forensic psychiatry from the perspective of the integrity of discernment. In the psychopathology of volition, the term denotes the dynamic suspension of the ego's executive functions, leading to states of profound apathy, learned helplessness, or psychic capitulation in the face of major traumatic stress.
• Aberration / Anomaly — A state, manifestation, or structure presenting a pathological deviation from the normal or physiological type. In genetics, it represents a structural or numerical anomaly of chromosomes; in neuropsychiatry, it denotes a wandering of cognitive functions or a severe thought disorder; in ophthalmology, it indicates an optical error of the eye (refractive defect) preventing a clear image on the retina.
• To abhor / To loathe — To have a profound hatred, visceral disgust, extreme aversion, or intense horror toward someone or something; to utterly detest. In psychiatric semiology and psychopathology, the verb describes the behavioral or verbal manifestation of a patient affected by severe phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or delusional psychoses, showcasing an instinctive and violent rejection of specific stimuli, objects, or concepts.
• Abrosia — (Medicine, rare) A pathological condition characterized by a lack of food, chronic starvation, or extreme wasting caused by the refusal or inability to feed; a less frequent variant of the medical neologism 'abrozie'.
• abscess — (Medicine) A localized collection of pus within a tissue or organ, formed as a result of an acute inflammatory process, usually caused by a local bacterial infection.
• Acampsia — A clinical pathological state manifested by extreme muscle rigidity, total inflexibility, or the complete loss of mobility in a joint or limb, preventing any form of flexion. This severe condition is often the result of bony ankylosis, retractile fibrous scarring following major trauma, or advanced spastic neurological disorders, requiring intensive physiotherapy or corrective surgery.
• Acanthocyte — A pathologically altered erythrocyte (red blood cell) characterized by an abnormal spherical or star-like shape, displaying multiple rigid, sharp cytoplasmic protrusions (spicules) of irregular length and distribution across its membrane. This morphological change (acanthocytosis) is caused by membrane lipid abnormalities and is encountered in severe conditions such as abetalipoproteinemia, advanced liver diseases, or neuroacanthocytosis.
• Acanthocytosis — A pathological condition characterized by the presence of an abnormally high number of acanthocytes (spurred erythrocytes with rigid, irregular membrane protrusions) in the peripheral blood. This morphological anomaly is closely linked to altered lipid metabolism and cell membrane structure, serving as a major diagnostic indicator for rare hereditary disorders (such as abetalipoproteinemia or McLeod syndrome), advanced end-stage liver diseases, or neurodegenerative disorders within the neuroacanthocytosis group.
• Acantholysis — A histological pathological process characterized by the loss of intercellular cohesion between keratinocytes in the stratum spinosum of the epidermis, caused by the destruction or dysfunction of desmosomes (cellular junction structures). This biochemical and immunological phenomenon leads to the separation of epithelial cells, formation of clefts, and subsequent development of intraepidermal vesicles or bullae, serving as the definitive microscopic hallmark for severe autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris.
• Acanthoma — A benign cutaneous tumor formation characterized by the hyperplastic proliferation of keratinocytes within the stratum spinosum of the epidermis (acanthosis). This well-circumscribed lesion can manifest in various clinical and histological forms, the most notable being clear cell acanthoma (Degos) and acanthoma fissuratum, requiring microscopic differential diagnosis to exclude epidermal malignancies.
• Acanthosis — A histopathological alteration consisting of the thickening of the prickle cell layer (stratum spinosum) of the epidermis, caused by the proliferation of malpighian cells. In a clinical macroscopic sense, the term is frequently associated with 'Acanthosis nigricans', a skin condition characterized by hyperpigmented, velvety, and rough plaques, predominantly localized in intertriginous areas (neck, axillae, groin), serving as an important cutaneous marker for insulin resistance, obesity, or endocrine disorders.
• Acarocecidium — An abnormal gall or tumor-like growth (cecidium) induced on plant vegetative organs (leaves, stems, buds) as a hyperplastic and hypertrophic reaction of plant tissues to the puncture, feeding, or salivary secretions of phytophagous mites (especially from the Eriophyidae family). These structures provide the parasites with shelter against climate and predators, as well as a rich food source.
• Acatagraphia — A neuropsychological disorder characterized by an individual's pathological inability to write syntactically, structurally, and grammatically correct sentences or texts, whereas the ability to copy text, spell isolated words, and the motor function of the hand remain unaffected. It represents the graphic equivalent of acataphasia, caused by dysfunction in the higher cortical areas responsible for the symbolic organization of written language.
• Acrodystrophy — A chronic structural disorder characterized by altered trophism and progressive degeneration of the tissues in the body's extremities (hands, feet, digits), often manifesting as recurrent skin ulcerations.
• Acromastitis — Acute or chronic inflammation of the nipple; a pathological process strictly localized within the superficial tissue structures of the mammary nipple and areola. This clinical condition manifests through pronounced erythema, localized edema, sharp tenderness, and cutaneous fissures, frequently occurring during lactation due to microtraumas or secondary bacterial infections.