definitions

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

[ spuhn-juh-fawrm ]
/ ˈspʌn dʒəˌfɔrm /

a fatal neurological disease of cattle, characterized by spongelike changes in the brain and thought to be caused by an infectious prion also implicated in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Abbreviation: BSE

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Nearby words

bovet, bovid, bovine, bovine growth hormone, bovine somatotrophin, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, bovinely, bovinity, bovril, bovver, bovver boots

Origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy

1985–90
Also called mad cow disease.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

noun

the full name for BSE
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

n.

An infectious degenerative brain disease occurring in cattle.mad cow disease
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

[ spŭn′jĭ-fôrm′ ]

See mad cow disease.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.