- disorder
- A disturbance of function, structure, or both, resulting from a genetic or embryonic failure in development or from exogenous factors such as poison, trauma, or disease.- adjustment disorders 1. a group of mental and behavioral disorders in which the development of symptoms is related to the presence of some environmental stressor or life event and is expected to remit when the stress ceases; 2. a d. whose essential feature is a maladaptive reaction to an identifiable psychological stress, or stressors, that occurs within weeks of the onset of the stressors and persists for up to six months; the maladaptive nature of the reaction is indicated by impairment in occupational (including school) functioning, or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or with symptoms that are in excess of a normal or expectable reaction to the stressor.- antisocial personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern characterized by continuous and chronic antisocial behavior with disregard for and violation of the rights and safety of others, beginning before the age of 15; early childhood signs include chronic lying, stealing, fighting, and truancy; in adolescence there may be unusually early or aggressive sexual behavior, excessive drinking, and use of illicit drugs, such behavior continuing in adulthood. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- anxiety disorders a group of interrelated mental illnesses involving anxiety reactions in response to stress. The types include: 1) generalized anxiety, by far the most prevalent condition, which strikes slightly more females than males, mostly in the 20–35 age group; 2) panic d., in which a person suffers repeated panic attacks. Some 2–5% of Americans are subject to this ailment, about twice as many women as men; 3) obsessive-compulsive d., afflicting 2–3% of the U.S. population; 4) posttraumatic stress d., most frequent among combat veterans or survivors of major physical trauma; and 5) the phobias ( e.g., fear of snakes, crowds, confinement, heights, etc.), which on a minor scale affect about one in eight people in the U.S. See neurosis.- articulation disorders errors in pronunciation including phoneme omissions, substitutions, distortions, and additions.- Asperger d. 1. a pervasive developmental d. characterized by severe and enduring impairment in social skills and restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests, leading to impaired social and occupational functioning but without significant delays in language development. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- attention deficit d. a d. of attention, organization and impulse control appearing in childhood and sometimes persisting to adulthood. Hyperactivity may be a feature, but is not necessary for the diagnosis.- attention deficit hyperactivity d. 1. a d. of childhood and adolescence manifested at home, in school, and in social situations by developmentally inappropriate degrees of inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: hyperactive child syndrome.- autistic d. 1. a severe form of pervasive developmental d.. SEE ALSO: autism, infantile autism. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. See autism, infantile autism.- avoidant d. of adolescence See avoidant d. of childhood.- avoidant d. of childhood a mental d. occurring in childhood or adolescence characterized by an excessive shrinking away from contact with people who are unfamiliar.- avoidant personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern in adulthood characterized by hypersensitivity to rejection, humiliation, shame, feelings of inadequacy resulting in social inhibition, and an unwillingness to enter into relationships without unusually strong guarantees of uncritical acceptance. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: avoidant personality.- behavior d. general term used to denote mental illness or psychological dysfunction, specifically those mental, emotional, or behavioral subclasses for which organic correlates do not exist. See antisocial personality d..- bipolar d. an affective d. characterized by the occurrence of alternating periods of euphoria (mania) and depression. SYN: manic-depressive psychosis.- body dysmorphic d. 1. a psychosomatic (somatoform) d. characterized by preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance in a normal-appearing person. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: dysmorphophobia.- borderline personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern that begins by early adulthood and is characterized by impulsivity and unpredictability, unstable interpersonal relationships, inappropriate or uncontrolled affect, especially anger, identity disturbances, rapid shifts of mood, suicidal acts, self-mutilations, job and marital instability, chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom, and intolerance of being alone. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specific criteria are met.- character d. an older term referring to a group of behavioral disorders, now replaced by a more general term, personality d..- conduct d. 1. a mental d. of childhood or adolescence characterized by a persistent pattern of violating societal norms and the rights of others; children with the d. may exhibit physical aggression, cruelty to animals, vandalism and robbery, along with truancy, cheating, and lying. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. See antisocial personality d..- conversion d. 1. a mental d. in which an unconscious emotional conflict is expressed as an alteration or loss of physical functioning, usually controlled by the voluntary nervous system. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) chronic disorders involving connective tissue (muscles, tendons) and nerve, often resulting from work-related physical activities. SYN: repetitive strain disorders, repetitive stress disorders.- cyclothymic d. SYN: cyclothymia.- cyclothymic personality d. SYN: cyclothymic personality.- delusional d. a severe mental d. characterized by the presence of delusions. The delusions may be related to paranoid, grandiose, somatic, or erotic themes.- dependent personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern in adulthood characterized by submissive and clinging behavior and excessive reliance on others to meet one's emotional, social, or economic needs. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: dependent personality.- depersonalization d. 1. a d. characterized by persistent or recurrent experiences of detachment from one's mental processes or body, as if one is an automaton, an outside observer, or in a dream; reality testing remains intact and there is clinically significant distress impairment. 2. a DSM diagnosis is established when the specified criteria are met.- dissociative disorders a group of mental disorders characterized by disturbances in the functions of identity, memory, consciousness, or perception of the environment; this group includes dissociative (older term, psychogenic) amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity (older term, multiple personality) d., and depersonalization d..- dissociative identity d. 1. a d. in which two or more distinct conscious personalities alternately prevail in the same person, sometimes without any one personality being aware of the other(s). 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: multiple personality.- dysthymic d. 1. a chronic disturbance of mood characterized by mild depression or loss of interest in usual activities. See depression. 2. a DSM diagnosis is established when the specified criteria are met.- eating disorders a group of mental disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, pica, and rumination d. of infancy.- erotomanic d. the false belief that one is loved by another such as a movie star or a casual acquaintance.- factitious d. a mental d. in which the individual intentionally produces symptoms of illness or feigns illness for psychological reasons rather than for environmental goals.- familial bipolar mood d. bipolar mood d. commonly inherited as an autosomal dominant [MIM*125480] trait and also occasionally as an X-linked one [MIM*309200].- functional d. a d. characterized by physical symptoms with no known or detectable organic basis. See behavior d., neurosis. SYN: functional disease, functional illness.- gender identity disorders 1. a mental d. in children, adolescents, or adults characterized by a strong and enduring cross-gender identification that manifests in insistence that one is, or desires to be, the other sex; this d. involves persistent discomfort with one's assigned sex or the gender role of one's sex, such that there is clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning, often leading to adopting to various degrees the gender role of the other sex. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specific criteria are met. SEE ALSO: transsexualism.- generalized anxiety d. 1. chronic, repeated episodes of anxiety reactions; a psychological d. in which anxiety or morbid fear and dread accompanied by autonomic changes are prominent features. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. See anxiety.- grandiose type of paranoid d. a delusion in which the person believes that he or she possesses some great but unrecognized talent or insight, or has made an important discovery, with subsequent efforts toward official or public recognition.- histrionic personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern of behavior in adulthood characterized by excessive, dramatic, and shallow emotionality; attention-seeking; and demands for approval and reassurance, beginning in early childhood and present in a variety of contexts. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: hysterical personality d., hysterical personality.- hysterical personality d. SYN: histrionic personality d..- identity d. a mental d. in which one suffers severe distress regarding one's ability to reconcile aspects of the self into a coherent acceptable sense of self.- immunoproliferative disorders disorders in which there is a continuing proliferation of cells of the immune system that can result in γ-globulin abnormalities such as in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, “macroglobulinemias,” and multiple myeloma.- impulse control d. a group of mental disorders characterized by a person's failure to resist an impulse to perform some act harmful to self or to others; includes pathologic gambling, pedophilia, kleptomania, pyromania, trichotillomania, intermittent and isolated explosive disorders.- induced psychotic d. a severe mental d. brought about by a toxic agent such as a drug or hallucinogen. See psychosis.- intermittent explosive d. 1. a d. that may begin in early childhood, or following head injury at any age, characterized by repeated acts of violent, aggressive behavior in otherwise normal persons that is markedly out of proportion to the event that provokes it. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: dyscontrol, episodic dyscontrol syndrome.- internet addiction d. a posited clinical syndrome involving excessive time spent “surfing the net”; without clearly established criteria or etiology.- ion channel disorders a number of diseases, mostly inherited and episodic in nature, caused by dysfunction of the calcium, chloride, potassium, or sodium channels of nerve or muscle; the inherited myotonias and periodic paralyses are included in this category; there is usually dominant inheritance, with the primary defect due to mutations of gene encoding on locus 7q32, 17q, or 1q31-32. SYN: channelopathies.- isolated explosive d. a d. of impulse control characterized by a single episode of failure to resist a violent, externally directed act which had serious impact on others.- jealous type of paranoid d. the false belief that one's spouse or lover is unfaithful, leading to repeated confrontation, or the taking of extraordinary steps to intervene in the imagined infidelity.- LDL receptor d. abnormality in clearance of LDL from the plasma due to abnormality in LDL receptor activity; causes hypercholesterolemia.- lymphoplasmacellular disorders term used to refer to a group of disorders including plasmacytoma, multiple myeloma, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, MALT lymphoma, and amyloidosis.- major mood d. See bipolar d., affective psychosis, endogenous depression, dysthymia, manic-depressive d..- mental d. a psychological syndrome or behavioral pattern that is associated with subjective distress and/or objective impairment. SEE ALSO: mental illness, behavior d..- mitochondrial disorders a group of diverse hereditary disorders caused by genetic mutation of mitochrondrial DNA; includes ragged red fiber myopathy; progressive external ophthalmoplegia; Leigh syndrome; myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fiber myopathy (MERRF); mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lacta cidosis, and stroke (MELAS); and Lieber optic neuropathy.- mood disorders a group of mental disorders involving a disturbance of mood, accompanied by either a full or partial manic or depressive syndrome that is not due to any other mental d.. Mood refers to a prolonged emotion that colors the whole psychic life; it generally involves either depression or elation; e.g., manic episode, major depressive episode, bipolar disorders, and depressive d. (see separate entries for each).- narcissistic personality d. 1. a pervasive pattern in adulthood of self-centeredness, self-importance, lack of empathy for others, sense of entitlement, and viewing others largely as objects to meet one's needs, manifested in a variety of contexts. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- neuropsychologic d. cerebral dysfunction from any physical cause manifested by changes in mood, behavior, perception, memory, cognition, or judgment and/or psychophysiology.- obsessive-compulsive d. 1. a type of anxiety d. whose essential feature is recurrent obsessions, persistent, intrusive ideas, thoughts, impulses or images, or compulsions (repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviors performed in response to an obsession) sufficiently severe to cause marked distress, be time-consuming, or significantly interfere with the individual's normal routine, occupational functioning, or usual social activities or relationships with others. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SEE ALSO: obsessive-compulsive personality d..- obsessive-compulsive personality d. 1. a pervasive pattern in adulthood characterized by unattainable perfectionism; preoccupation with rules, details, and orderliness; unreasonable attempts to control others; excessive devotion to work; and rumination to the point of indecisiveness, all at the expense of flexiblity, openness, and efficiency. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: compulsive personality, obsessive personality, obsessive-compulsive personality.- oppositional d. SYN: oppositional defiant d..- oppositional defiant d. 1. a d. of childhood or adolescence characterized by a recurrent pattern of negativistic, hostile, and disobedient behavior toward authority figures. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: oppositional d..- organic mental d. a psychological, cognitive, or behavioral abnormality associated with transient or permanent dysfunction of the brain, usually characterized by the presence of an organic brain syndrome.- overanxious d. a mental d. of childhood or adolescence marked by excessive worrying and fearful behavior not related specifically to separation or due to recent stress, now included within generalized anxiety d..- paranoid personality d. 1. a personality d. that is less debilitating than is the paranoid or delusional paranoid d.; the essential feature is a pervasive and unwarranted tendency, beginning in early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, to misinterpret the actions of others as deliberately exploitive, harmful, demeaning, or threatening. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met. SYN: paranoid personality.- persecutory type of paranoid d. one of the most common of the types of paranoid disorders, it involves a single theme or series of connected themes, such as being conspired against, cheated, spied on, followed, poisoned or drugged, maligned, harassed, or obstructed in the pursuit of long-term goals; small slights may be exaggerated and become the focus of a delusional system. See paranoia. Cf.:paranoid personality d.. SYN: paranoid d..- personality d. general term for a group of behavioral disorders characterized by usually lifelong ingrained maladaptive patterns of subjective internal experience and deviant behavior, lifestyle, and social adjustment, which patterns may manifest in impaired judgement, affect, impulse control and interpersonal functioning.- pervasive developmental d. a group of mental disorders of infancy, childhood, or adolescence characterized by distortions in the acquisition of the multiple basic psychologic funtions necessary for the elaboration of social skills, language skills, and imagination; also characterized by restricted or stereotypical activities and interests. SEE ALSO: Rett syndrome, Asperger d..- posttraumatic stress d. 1. development of characteristic symptoms following a psychologically traumatic event that is generally outside the range of usual human experience; symptoms include numbed responsiveness to environmental stimuli, a variety of autonomic and cognitive dysfunctions, and dysphoria. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- premenstrual dysphoric d. 1. a pervasive pattern occurring during the last week of the luteal phase in most menstrual cycles for at least a year and remitting within a few days of the onset of the follicular phase, with some combination of depressed mood, mood lability, marked anxiety, or irritability; various specific physical symptoms; and significant functional impairment; the symptoms are comparable in severity to those seen in a major depressive episode, distinguishing this d. from the far more common premenstrual syndrome. SEE ALSO: premenstrual syndrome. 2. a specified set of criteria in the DSM, proposed for the purpose of futher research.- psychogenic pain d. a d. in which the principal complaint is pain that is out of proportion to objective findings and that is related to psychological factors.- psychosomatic d., psychophysiologic d. a d. characterized by physical symptoms of psychic origin, usually involving a single organ system innervated by the autonomic nervous system; physiological and organic changes stem from a sustained disturbance.- reactive attachment d. 1. a mental d. of infancy or early childhood characterized by disturbed social relatedness; thought to be caused by grossly pathologic care. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- REM behavior d. a d. characterized by lack of the atonia of voluntary muscles that normally occurs in REM sleep.- rumination d. 1. a mental d. occurring in infancy characterized by repeated regurgitation of food, usually accompanied by weight loss or failure to gain weight. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- schizoid personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern of behavior in adulthood characterized by social withdrawal, emotional coldness or aloofness or restriction, and indifference to others. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specific criteria are met. SYN: schizoid personality.- schizophreniform d. (skiz′o-fren′i-form) 1. a d. whose essential features are identical with those of schizophrenia, with the exception that the duration including prodromal, active, and residual phases is less than six months. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- schizotypal personality d. 1. an enduring and pervasive pattern of behavior in adulthood characterized by discomfort with and reduced capacity for close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentric behavior. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specific criteria are met. SYN: schizotypal personality.- seasonal affective d. (SAD) a depressive mood d. that occurs at approximately the same time year after year and spontaneously remits at the same time each year. The most common type is winter depression and it is characterized by morning hypersomnia, low energy, increased appetite, weight gain, and carbohydrate craving, all of which remit in the spring.- separation anxiety d. 1. a mental d. occurring in childhood characterized by excessive anxiety when the child is separated from someone to whom the child is attached, usually a parent. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- sexual disorders a group of behavioral and psychophysiologic disorders in which there is symptomatic variability in sexual functioning, including either the eroticized behavior associated with sexual activity (the paraphilias) or with disturbances of desire, arousal, and orgasm.- sleep terror d. night terrors.- somatization d. 1. a mental d. characterized by presentation of a complicated medical history and of physical symptoms referring to a variety of organ systems, but without a detectable or known organic basis. See conversion, hysteria, Briquet syndrome. 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met.- somatoform d. a group of disorders in which physical symptoms suggesting physical disorders for which there are no demonstrable organic findings or known physiologic mechanisms, and for which there is positive evidence, or a strong presumption that the symptoms are linked to psychological factors; e.g., hysteria, conversion d., hypochondriasis, pain d., somatization d., body dysmorphic d., and Briquet syndrome.- substance abuse disorders a group of mental disorders in which maladaptive behavioral and biologic changes are associated with regular use of alcohol, drugs, and related substances that affect the central nervous system and result in failure to meet significant obligations in personal and social functioning.- substance dependence d. a maladaptive pattern of use of alcohol, drugs, or other substances, with tolerance and/or withdrawal symptoms, drug-seeking behavior, and lack of success in discontinuation of use, to the detriment of social, interpersonal, and occupational activities.- substance-induced organic mental disorders mental disorders caused by use of drugs, e.g., cocaine, alcohol, etc.- thought process d. an intellectual function symptom of schizophrenia, manifested by irrelevance and incoherence of verbal productions ranging from simple blocking and mild circumstantiality to total loosening of association s. SYN: thought d..- triple repeat disorders a group of hereditary disorders in which a gene mutation on a specific chromosome produces an abnormal form of protein terminated by a long chain of amino acid glutamate repeats; includes Huntington disease, Kennedy disease, Machado-Joseph disease, myotonic dystrophy, fragile X syndrome, and some spinal cerebellar disorders.
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dis·or·der (')dis-'ȯrd-ər, (')diz- vt, dis·or·dered; dis·or·der·ing -'ȯrd-(ə-)riŋ to disturb the regular or normal functions ofdisorder n an abnormal physical or mental condition: AILMENT <an intestinal \disorder> <a nervous \disorder>* * *
dis·or·der (dis-orґdər) a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
