Medical Definition of Phthisis

Phthisis: A good trivia or crossword item. An over-consonanted Greek word meaning "a dwindling or wasting away." Pronounced TIE-sis.

Phthisis is an archaic name for tuberculosis. A person afflicted with tuberculosis in the old days was destined to dwindle and waste away like Mimi, the heroine of Puccini's 1896 opera "La Boheme."

Nephronophthisis is derived from "nephron" + "phthisis." The nephron is the fundamental functional unit in the kidney and includes the renal tubule and glomerulus. In nephronophthisis the kidney is progressively destroyed.

QUESTION

What causes tooth decay? See Answer