SECONDARY DEGENERATION Meaning and
Definition
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Secondary degeneration refers to the progressive neural damage that occurs in areas of the nervous system that are connected to the primary site of injury or disease. It is a process that follows after an initial insult to the nervous tissue, such as trauma, inflammation, or neurodegenerative diseases like stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer's disease.
In secondary degeneration, the primary injury triggers a cascade of biochemical and cellular events that lead to additional and widespread damage to adjacent neurons, axons, or glial cells that were not directly affected by the initial insult. This secondary damage can evolve over time and contribute significantly to the overall impairment observed in the affected neural pathways.
The mechanisms underlying secondary degeneration are complex and can involve excitotoxicity, inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction, among others. These processes disrupt the normal functioning of neurons and disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters, leading to neuronal death, axonal degeneration, and synaptic loss.
Secondary degeneration is often associated with clinical deterioration and the progression of symptoms following the initial injury or disease. Understanding the mechanisms that drive secondary degeneration is crucial for developing strategies to delay or prevent its progression, as it may hold the key to effective therapies for various neurological disorders.
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Degeneration of a nerve, affecting always the end which is cut off from its trophic center.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for SECONDARY DEGENERATION
- aecondary degeneration
- zecondary degeneration
- xecondary degeneration
- decondary degeneration
- eecondary degeneration
- wecondary degeneration
- swcondary degeneration
- sscondary degeneration
- sdcondary degeneration
- srcondary degeneration
- s4condary degeneration
- s3condary degeneration
- sexondary degeneration
- sevondary degeneration
- sefondary degeneration
- sedondary degeneration
- secindary degeneration
- seckndary degeneration
- seclndary degeneration
- secpndary degeneration
Etymology of SECONDARY DEGENERATION
The term "secondary degeneration" is a medical term used to describe a pathological process where the deterioration of nerve fibers occurs in regions of the nervous system remote from the site of the initial injury or disease. The etymology of this term can be broken down as follows:
1. Secondary: The word "secondary" comes from the Latin word "secundarius", which means "following in order" or "subsequent". In medical terminology, "secondary" refers to an effect or condition that arises as a consequence or result of another condition or process.
2. Degeneration: The word "degeneration" is derived from the Latin word "degenerare", which means "to deteriorate" or "to become worse". It is composed of two parts, "de-" meaning "down" and "generare" meaning "to produce" or "to generate".
