poliomyelitis

American  

[poh-lee-oh-mahy-uh-lahy-tis] / ˌpoʊ li oʊˌmaɪ əˈlaɪ tɪs /

noun

Pathology.

1. an acute viral disease, usually affecting children and young adults, caused by any of three polioviruses, characterized by inflammation of the motor neurons of the brain stem and spinal cord, and resulting in a motor paralysis, followed by muscular atrophy and often permanent deformities.

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poliomyelitis British  

/ ˌpəʊlɪəʊˌmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs /

noun

1. Also called: infantile paralysis.  Often shortened to: polio.  an acute infectious viral disease, esp affecting children. In its paralytic form ( acute anterior poliomyelitis ) the brain and spinal cord are involved, causing weakness, paralysis, and wasting of muscle

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poliomyelitis Scientific  

/ pō′lē-ō-mī′ə-lī′tĭs /

1. A highly communicable infectious disease caused by the poliovirus of the genus Enterovirus that causes inflammation of motor neurons of the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to paralysis, muscular atrophy, and often disability and deformity. Childhood vaccinations are given to prevent infection.

2. Also called polio

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poliomyelitis Cultural  

1. An acute disease, and an infectious disease, caused by a virus, that brings about inflammation of certain nerve cells in the spinal cord. It can have a wide range of effects, from mild to severe, including paralysis, permanent disability, and death. In the United States, the disease has now largely vanished since the development of a vaccine against it. (See Sabin vaccine and Salk vaccine.)

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Discover More

President Franklin D. Roosevelt suffered from poliomyelitis. During his presidency, he could not walk unaided.

The history of polio, which went from a major public health problem to a minor one in a short time, is often used as an example of the benefits of medical research.

Other Word Forms

• poliomyelitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of poliomyelitis

1875–80; < New Latin < Greek polió ( s ) gray + New Latin myelitis myelitis

Example Sentences

Over the next 25 years, there would be 51.2 million cases of measles, 9.9 million cases of rubella and 4.3 million cases of poliomyelitis.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025

Experts agree that a vaccinated population is the best defense against poliomyelitis, the technical name for the disease caused by the poliovirus—which can sometimes lead to permanent paralysis.

From Scientific American • Sep. 29, 2022

Polio is short for "poliomyelitis," a neurological disease caused by a poliovirus infection.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2022

Both vaccines are highly effective against paralytic poliomyelitis, but OPV appears to be more effective in preventing infection and transmission.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 19, 2022

The halfway technology that was evolving for poliomyelitis in the early 1950s, just before the emergence of the basic research that made the vaccine possible, provides another illustration of the point.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas