Sydenham's chorea

Syd·en·ham's chorea

noun \ˈsid-^ən-əmz-\

Definition of SYDENHAM'S CHOREA

: chorea following infection (as rheumatic fever) and occurring usually in children and adolescents—called also Saint Vitus' dance

Biographical Note for SYDENHAM'S CHOREA

Sydenham, Thomas (1624–1689), British physician. Sydenham has been called the founder of epidemiology and the English Hippocrates for his reliance on close personal observation of patients and clinical experience to treat disease. He introduced the use of opium into medical practice and helped to popularize the use of quinine for the treatment of malaria. He is also known for his classic descriptions of arthritis due to gout (1683) and Sydenham's chorea (1686).