ectromelia

[ ek-troh-mee-lee-uh ]

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. the congenital absence or imperfection of a limb or limbs.
2. Also called infectious ectromelia, Veterinary Pathology. a viral disease of mice, characterized by gangrene of the extremities, swelling and loss of limbs, and mottling of the liver.

Other Words From

• ec·tro·mel·ic [ek-troh-, mel, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ectromelia¹

1905–10; ectro- ( ectrodactylism ) + -melia

Example Sentences

The splotches were members of the poxvirus family, specifically ectromelia, visualized directly in the lymph fluids of infected mice.

From Nautilus