infantile paralysis

noun

Pathology.

1. poliomyelitis.

infantile paralysis

noun

1. a former name for poliomyelitis

Word History and Origins

Origin of infantile paralysis¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Born in Saint John, Canada, Sutherland barely survived a series of childhood diseases, including infantile paralysis, rheumatoid fever and spinal meningitis.

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Polio at the time was also called infantile paralysis because it seemed to infect mostly children.

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The virus behind the disease could infect anyone, but in the U.S., it caused the worst damage among children under five years old, and polio was consequently called infantile paralysis.

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The polio caused lasting effects, and she suffered from infantile paralysis when she was five, which meant she couldn't walk properly for most of her childhood.

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His illness was not the more familiar “infantile paralysis” that left victims such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt on crutches and in leg braces.

Read more on Washington Post