tabes dorsalis

noun

tabes dor·​sa·​lis -dȯr-ˈsa-ləs 

-ˈsā-,

-ˈsä-

: a syphilitic disorder of the nervous system marked by wasting, pain, limb weakness, ataxia, and disorders of sensation and vision resulting from degeneration of the spinal cord

called also locomotor ataxia

Examples of tabes dorsalis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Doyle’s thesis was written as a prerequisite for graduating from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1885 and explored the condition tabes dorsalis, the result of a chronically untreated syphilitic infection affecting the brain and peripheral nerves of the body. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2015

Doyle observed that ergotism results in the constriction of blood vessels, producing similar signs and symptoms as tabes dorsalis. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2015

Manet was suffering from tabes dorsalis, the degeneration of nerves in the dorsal column of his spinal cord, a primary symptom of which was locomotor ataxia. —Colin B. Bailey, The New York Review of Books, 17 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, dorsal tabes

First Known Use

circa 1681, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

tabes dorsalis

noun

tabes dor·​sa·​lis -dȯr-ˈsā-ləs  -ˈsal-əs 

: a syphilitic disorder that involves the dorsal horns of the spinal cord and the sensory nerve trunks and that is marked by wasting, pain, lack of coordination of voluntary movements and reflexes, and disorders of sensation, nutrition, and vision

called also locomotor ataxia