paraplegia

American  

[par-uh-plee-jee-uh, -juh] / ˌpær əˈpli dʒi ə, -dʒə /

noun

Pathology.

1. paralysis of both lower limbs due to spinal disease or injury.

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paraplegia British  

/ ˌpærəˈpliːdʒə /

noun

1. pathol paralysis of the lower half of the body, usually as the result of disease or injury of the spine Compare hemiplegia quadriplegia

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paraplegia Scientific  

/ păr′ə-plē′jē-ə /

1. Paralysis of the lower part of the body, caused by injury to the spinal cord.

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Other Word Forms

• paraplegic adjective

Etymology

Origin of paraplegia

First recorded in 1580–90; from New Latin, from Ionic Greek (Hippocrates) paraplēgíē; “hemiplegia”; para- ¹, -plegia

Compare meaning

How does paraplegia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• tetraplegia vs. paraplegia
• paraplegia vs. hemiplegia

Example Sentences

The plaintiff, Darwin Boggs, has paraplegia and uses a wheelchair when traveling in public, the suit said.

From Los Angeles Times

Knowing how these molecular machines work may be key to understanding and treating motoneuron diseases such as multiple sclerosis and spastic paraplegia.

From Science Daily

Here are the stories of a disabled woman, her father and her caretakers; a lawyer and her late mother’s physician; a woman with paraplegia and her home health aide; and a contact tracer.

From New York Times

Common symptoms are back pain, lower limb weakness and paraplegia.

From New York Times

He also received special monthly compensation for paraplegia and was given allowances for a caregiver and Social Security Administration disability insurance payments, court documents said.

From Fox News