systemic lupus erythematosus
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- systemic lupus erythematosus
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A chronic, remitting, relapsing, inflammatory, often febrile multisystemic disorder of connective tissue, acute or insidious in onset, characterized principally by involvement of the skin (cutaneous lupus erythematosus), joints, kidneys, and serosal membranes. It is of unknown etiology, but it is thought to represent a failure of regulatory mechanisms of the autoimmune system, as suggested by the high level of numerous autoantibodies against nuclear and cytoplasmic cellular components. It is marked by a wide variety of abnormalities, including arthritis and arthralgias, nephritis, central nervous system manifestations, pleurisy, pericarditis, leukopenia or thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and positive LE-cell preparations. Abbreviated SLE.
Used in 3 Term definitions
Used in 3 Term definitions