Medical Dictionary

Hodgkin's lymphoma

noun Hodg·kin's lymphoma \ ˈhäj-kənz- \

variants: or Hodgkin lymphoma or Hodgkin's disease also Hodgkin disease or Hodgkin's

medical Definition of Hodgkin's lymphoma

: a malignant lymphoma that is marked by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells and is characterized by progressive enlargement of lymph nodes, spleen, and liver and by progressive anemia — see non-hodgkin lymphoma

Biographical Note for hodgkin's lymphoma

Hodgkin, Thomas (1798–1866), British physician. Hodgkin made important contributions in pathology, including a treatise on the anatomy of diseased tissue that spurred the study of tissue pathology in Great Britain. He is known for his description of aortic regurgitation in 1829 and of Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1832. The latter disease was named in his honor in 1865 by fellow British physician Sir Samuel Wilks (1824–1911).