Dropsy

: An old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water. In years gone by, a person might have been said to have dropsy. Today one would be more descriptive and specify the cause. Thus, the person might have edema due to congestive heart failure. Edema is often more prominent in the lower legs and feet toward the end of the day as a result of pooling of fluid from the upright position usually maintained during the day. Upon awakening from sleeping, people can have swelling around the eyes referred to as periorbital edema. The Middle English dropesie came through the Old French hydropsie from the Greek hydrops which in turn came from the Greek hydor meaning water.

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Old term for generalized edema, most often associated with cardiac failure. [G. hydrops]

- abdominal d. SYN: ascites.

- cardiac d. edema due to heart failure.

- epidemic d. a disease causing occasional epidemics in India and Mauritius; marked by edema, anemia, eruptive angiomatosis, and mild fever; may be associated with nutritional deficiency.

- famine d. edema occurring with the hypoproteinemia of low protein intake occurring as starvation of a large population group.

- nutritional d. edema due to hypoproteinemia secondary to malnutrition.

- d. of pericardium SYN: pericardial effusion.

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drop·sy 'dräp-sē n, pl drop·sies EDEMA

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n.

see oedema

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drop·sy (dropґse) [L. hydrops, from Gr. hydōr water] edema.