Diathesis

In medicine, a "diathesis" is an elegant term for a predisposition or tendency. Thus, a hemorrhagic diathesis is nothing more than a bleeding tendency. The word "diathesis" is Greek.

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The constitutional or inborn state disposing to a disease, group of diseases, or metabolic or structural anomaly. [G. arrangement, condition]

- contractural d. an older term denoting a tendency to have contractures in hysteria.

- cystic d. a condition in which multiple cysts form in the liver, kidneys, and other organs.

- gouty d. a state of susceptibility to attacks of gout or development of tophi, usually associated with hyperuricemia or hyperexcretion of urate in urine.

- spasmophilic d. a condition in which there is an abnormal excitability of the motor nerves, shown by a tendency to tetany, laryngeal spasm, or general convulsions.

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di·ath·e·sis dī-'ath-ə-səs n, pl -e·ses -.sēz a constitutional predisposition toward a particular state or condition and esp. one that is abnormal or diseased

di·a·thet·ic .dī-ə-'thet-ik adj

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n.

a higher than average tendency to acquire certain diseases, such as allergies, rheumatic diseases, or gout. Such diseases may run in families, but they are not inherited.

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di·ath·e·sis (di-athґə-sis) [Gr. “arrangement, disposition”] a constitution or condition of the body which makes the tissues react in special ways to certain extrinsic stimuli and thus tends to make the person more than usually susceptible to certain diseases. Cf. constitution (def. 1) and type. diathetic adj