myasthenia

American  

[mahy-uhs-thee-nee-uh] / ˌmaɪ əsˈθi ni ə /

noun

Pathology.

1. muscle weakness.

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myasthenia British  

/ ˌmaɪəsˈθɛnɪk, ˌmaɪəsˈθiːnɪə /

noun

1. any muscular weakness

2. short for myasthenia gravis

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Other Word Forms

• myasthenic adjective

Etymology

Origin of myasthenia

First recorded in 1855–60; my- + asthenia

Example Sentences

His longtime partner, Keely Stahl, said the cause was myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease that weakens the skeletal muscles.

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2023

Blackmore victim Paul Stevens, who was forced to retire from work due to an auto-immune disease called myasthenia gravis, invested his ill-health retirement benefit into the fund.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2022

In patients with the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, muscle cell receptors that induce contraction in response to acetylcholine are targeted by antibodies.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The doctor listened to Emmons’s description of her symptoms and told her he suspected she had myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular condition that causes muscle weakness.

From Washington Post • Jul. 9, 2021

Esophageal paralysis is not uncommon in myasthenia gravis.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier