Chronic

Chronic
This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one lasting 3 months or more, by the definition of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. In ancient Greece, the "father of medicine" Hippocrates distinguished diseases that were acute (abrupt, sharp and brief) from those that were chronic. This is still a very useful distinction. Subacute has been coined to designate the mid-ground between acute and chronic.
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1. Referring to a health-related state, lasting a long time. 2. Referring to exposure, prolonged or long-term, sometimes meaning also low intensity. 3. The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics defines a c. condition as one of 3 months' duration or longer. [G. chronos, time]
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chronic disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neoplasms, infections, cryoglobulinemia [conditions in which rheumatoid factor is produced]

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chron·ic 'krän-ik also chron·i·cal -i-kəl adj
1 a) marked by long duration, by frequent recurrence over a long time, and often by slowly progressing seriousness: not acute <\chronic indigestion> <her hallucinations became \chronic>
b) suffering from a disease or ailment of long duration or frequent recurrence <a \chronic arthritic> <\chronic sufferers from asthma>
2 a) having a slow progressive course of indefinite duration used esp. of degenerative invasive diseases, some infections, psychoses, and inflammations <\chronic heart disease>{{}}<\chronic arthritis>{{}}<\chronic tuberculosis> compare ACUTE (2b(1))
b) infected with a disease-causing agent (as a virus) and remaining infectious over a long period of time but not necessarily expressing symptoms <\chronic carriers may remain healthy but still transmit the virus causing hepatitis B>
chron·i·cal·ly -i-k(ə-)lē adv
chro·nic·i·ty krä-'nis-ət-ē, krō- n, pl -ties
chronic n one that suffers from a chronic disease

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adj.
describing a disease of long duration involving very slow changes. Such disease is often of gradual onset. The term does not imply anything about the severity of a disease. Compare acute.
chronicity n.

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chron·ic (kronґik) [L. chronicus, from Gr. chronos time] persisting over a long period of time.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • chronic — [krän′ik] adj. [Fr cronique < L chronicus < Gr chronikos, of time < chronos, time] 1. lasting a long time or recurring often: said of a disease, and distinguished from ACUTE 2. having had an ailment for a long time [a chronic patient] 3 …   English World dictionary

  • Chronic — may refer to: Chronic (medicine), a disease that is long lasting and reoccurring. Chronic toxicity, a substance with toxic effects after continuous or repeated exposure The Chronic, a 1992 album by Dr. Dre 2001 (album) or The Chronic 2001, a 1999 …   Wikipedia

  • chronić — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}cz. ndk VIIb, chronićnię, chronićni, chroń, chronićniony {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} nie dopuszczać, by komuś lub czemuś stało się coś złego, szkodliwego; pilnować, strzec, ochraniać, zabezpieczać, osłaniać : {{/stl 7}}{{stl… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • chronic — is used of a disease that is long lasting (as opposed to acute), and has the same implication of continuing severity when used of other circumstances. An acute problem is intense but brief, whereas a chronic problem is severe and likely to… …   Modern English usage

  • Chronic — Chron ic, a. [L. chronicus, Gr. ? concerning time, from ? time: cf. F. chronique.] 1. Relating to time; according to time. [1913 Webster] 2. Continuing for a long time; lingering; habitual. [1913 Webster] {Chronic disease}, one which is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • chronic — I adjective ceaseless, confirmed, constant, continual, continuing, continuous, cyclical, deep rooted, deep seated, drawn out, endless, enduring, entrenched, established, ever present, everlasting, extended, forever, frequent, habitual,… …   Law dictionary

  • chronic — early 15c., from O.Fr. chronique, from L. chronicus, from Gk. khronikos of time, from khronos time. Vague disapproving sense is from association with diseases (a connection found since c.1600) …   Etymology dictionary

  • chronic — *inveterate, confirmed, deep seated, deep rooted Analogous words: established, fixed, settled (see SET): *hardened, indurated, callous Antonyms: acute (of illness) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • CHRONIC — • chronic disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neoplasms, infections, cryoglobulinemia [conditions in which rheumatoid factor is produced] …   Dictionary of medical acronyms & abbreviations

  • chronic — [adj] incessant, never ending abiding, ceaseless, confirmed, constant, continual, continuing, continuous, deep rooted, deep seated, enduring, ever present, fixed, habitual, inborn, inbred, incurable, ineradicable, ingrained, inveterate, lasting,… …   New thesaurus

  • chronic — ► ADJECTIVE 1) (of an illness or problem) persisting for a long time. 2) having a persistent illness or bad habit. 3) Brit. informal very bad. DERIVATIVES chronically adverb chronicity noun. ORIGIN Greek khronikos of time , from khron …   English terms dictionary

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