Elephantiasis
| Elephantiasis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Elephantiasis of the legs due to filariasis | |
| Specialty | Infectious disease, general surgery |
| Symptoms | Swelling of the skin |
Elephantiasis, often incorrectly called elephantitis, is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling (edema). It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels (lymphedema). It may affect the genitalia. The term elephantiasis is often used in reference to symptoms caused by parasitic worm infections, but may refer to a variety of diseases that swell parts of the subject's body to exceptionally massive proportions.
Cause
Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include the following:
- Elephantiasis nostras, due to longstanding chronic lymphangitis.
- Elephantiasis tropica (known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic nematode worms, particularly Wuchereria bancrofti. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected.
- Nonfilarial elephantiasis (or podoconiosis), an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels
- Leishmaniasis
- Elephantiasis, Grade 3 lymphedema, which may occur in people with breast cancer
- Genital elephantiasis, result of lymphogranuloma venereum
- Proteus syndrome, a genetic disorder best known as the condition possibly experienced by Joseph Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man
Other causes may include:
- Repeated streptococcal infection
- Lymphadenectomy
- Hereditary birth defects
- Pretibial myxedema
Other diseases, such as the rare Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome, can initially be misdiagnosed as elephantiasis.
Elephantiasis may have been the skin condition suffered by Biblical character Job.
References
- 1 2 "Definition of ELEPHANTIASIS". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 28 June 2018
- ↑ Hollander, David I.; Halwig, J. Michael; McKinney, Peter; et al. (April 1985). "Elephantiasis nostras 1984". Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 75 (4): 450–451. doi:10.1016/S0091-6749(85)80016-6. ISSN 0091-6749.
- ↑ Carlson, Emily (27 March 2013). "Taking the 'Bite' Out of Vector-Borne Diseases". nigms.nih.gov. Inside Life Science Series. US: National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ Wanji, Samuel; Deribe, Kebede; Minich, Jessica; et al. (1 July 2021). "Podoconiosis – From known to unknown: Obstacles to tackle". Acta Tropica. 219 105918. doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.105918. ISSN 0001-706X.
- ↑ "Lymphedema". cancer.gov. US: National Cancer Institute. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ Rawla, Prashanth; Thandra, Krishna C.; Limaiem, Faten (2026), "Lymphogranuloma Venereum(Archived)", StatPearls, Treasure Island, Florida: StatPearls Publishing, PMID 30726047, retrieved 26 July 2026
- ↑ Tibbles, J. A.; Cohen, M. M. (13 September 1986). "The Proteus syndrome: the Elephant Man diagnosed". British Medical Journal. 293 (6548): 683–685. doi:10.1136/bmj.293.6548.683. ISSN 0267-0623. PMC 1341524. PMID 3092979.
- ↑ Capelato Rocha, Ritha de Cássia; Soriano Estrella, Mariani Paulino; do Amaral, Danielle Mechereffe; et al. (2017). "Proteus syndrome". Brazilian Annals of Dermatology. 92 (5): 717–720. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20174496. ISSN 1806-4841. PMC 5674710. PMID 29166516.
- ↑ "Jobs Disease". The McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia. Retrieved 15 July 2026 – via biblicalcyclopedia.com.
External links
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. VIII (9th ed.). 1878. p. 126.
- "Lymphatic filariasis". who.int. World Health Organization. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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