Definition of Asthma

1. Noun. Respiratory disorder characterized by wheezing; usually of allergic origin.

Exact synonyms: Asthma Attack, Bronchial Asthma
Terms within: Bronchospasm
Generic synonyms: Respiratory Disease, Respiratory Disorder, Respiratory Illness
Specialized synonyms: Status Asthmaticus
Derivative terms: Asthmatic

Definition of Asthma

1. n. A disease, characterized by difficulty of breathing (due to a spasmodic contraction of the bronchi), recurring at intervals, accompanied with a wheezing sound, a sense of constriction in the chest, a cough, and expectoration.

Definition of Asthma

1. Noun. (pathology) A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Asthma

1. a respiratory disease [n -S]

Medical Definition of Asthma

1. A disease process that is characterised by paradoxical narrowing of the bronchi (lung passageways) making breathing difficult. Treatment includes bronchodilators which are given orally or delivered as an aerosol (inhaled). Corticosteroids are reserved for more difficult cases. Symptoms include wheezing, difficulty breathing (particularly exhaling air) and tightness in the chest. Factors which can exacerbate asthma include rapid changes in temperature or humidity, allergies, upper respiratory infections, exercise, stress or smoke (cigarette). See: status asthmaticus. (27 Sep 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Asthma

asthenic personality
asthenic personality disorder
asthenic type
asthenics
asthenies
asthenopia
asthenopic
asthenosphere
asthenospheres
asthenospheric
astheny
asthma (current term)
asthma-weed
asthma attack
asthma attacks
asthma crystals
asthmalike
asthmas
asthmata
asthmatic
asthmatic bronchitis
asthmatical
asthmatically
asthmatick
asthmatics
asthmogenic

Literary usage of Asthma

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Medical Clinics of North America by Richard J. Havel, K. Patrick Ober (1922)
"In children the type of asthma which has received the greatest attention from ... This is not the type of asthma which I am going to discuss at this tune. ..."

2. The Lancet (1898)
"That asthma was by no means incurable was often shown in the case of children, who developed spasmodic asthma after whooping-cough or measles probably ..."

3. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1919)
"The first 2 patients began to have asthma in July; they were sensitive to the summer pollens—one was always worse in summer—and, although the asthma ..."

4. The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of by William Osler (1909)
"BRONCHIAL asthma. asthma is a term which has been applied to various conditions associated with dyspnoea—hence the names cardiac and renal asthma—but its ..."

5. Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion & Disease Prevention by DIANE Publishing Company (2004)
"Nearly 20 percent of people with asthma suffer some limitation in their daily ... In 1983-85, asthma accounted for 4.3 percent of the prevalence of activity ..."

6. Case Studies from the Quality Improvement Support System by David H. Gustafson (1998)
"Reducing asthma Revisits to the Emergency Room Introduction In 1994, a State Department of Health provided a special grant to a major city's Health and ..."

7. The ABCs of Safe & Healthy Child Care: A Handbook for Child Care Providers by Cynthia M. Hale, Jacqueline A. Polder (2000)
"asthma in the Child Care Setting asthma is a chronic breathing disorder ... Children with asthma have attacks of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Asthma on Dictionary.com!Search for Asthma on Thesaurus.com!Search for Asthma on Google!Search for Asthma on Wikipedia!