dwarfism (redirected from Little person)

dwarfism /dwarf·ism/ (dworf´izm) the state of being a dwarf.

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dwarf·ism (dwôrfzm)

n.

A pathological condition of arrested growth having various causes. Also called nanism.

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Dwarfism, pituitary

Short stature. When caused by inadequate amounts of growth hormone (as opposed to late growth spurt or genetics), hGH deficiency results in abnormally slow growth and short stature with normal proportions.

Mentioned in: Growth Hormone Tests, Kyphosis

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dwarfism

[dwôrf′izəm]

the abnormal underdevelopment of the body, characterized predominantly by extreme shortness of stature, although the condition is associated with numerous other defects and may involve varying degrees of mental retardation. Dwarfism has multiple causes, including genetic defects, endocrine dysfunction involving either the pituitary or the thyroid gland, chronic diseases such as rickets, renal failure, intestinal malabsorption defects, and psychosocial stress, as in the maternal deprivation syndrome. See also dwarf.

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dwarfism,

n deficient growth and development leading to small stature and often skeletal deformity. It may be associated with ovarian agenesis, pituitary insufficiency, mongolism, progeria, rickets, renal disease, dietary deficiency, achondroplasia, cleidocranial dysostosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, microcephaly, hydrocephaly, sexual precocity, and delayed adolescence.

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dwarfism

the state of being a dwarf; underdevelopment of the body. Dwarfism may be the result of a developmental anomaly, of nutritional or hormone deficiencies, or of other diseases. See also achondroplasia, cretinism.

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achondroplastic dwarfism

an inherited defect in cattle caused by defective cartilage growth which is effectively lethal because the calves do not grow well and die before 6 months of age. Typical signs are short legs, large, wide, short head, protruding lower jaw, depression of the maxilla with obstruction of respiration and stertorous breathing. The tongue protrudes and the eyes bulge, the abdomen is distended and there is chronic bloat. Urine levels of glycosaminoglycans are much higher than normal in some of the calves. Called also snorter dwarfs. The condition has also been seen in dogs and cats.

chondrodystrophic dwarfism with hydrocephalus

see bulldog calves.

constitutional dwarfism

a proportional dwarfism due to a generalized genetic defect.

disproportionate dwarfism

the skeleton is dystrophic, the soft tissues are normal. The animal is pot-bellied, dyspneic and the tongue protrudes. Characteristic of achondroplastic and chondrodystrophic dwarfs.

German shepherd dog dwarfism

an inherited juvenile panhypopituitarism caused by a defect in differentiation of the oropharyngeal ectoderm of Rathke's pouch. Affected puppies appear normal at birth but soon show a reduced rate of growth, retention of deciduous teeth and puppy hair, alopecia, delayed closure of epiphyseal growth plates, infantile genitalia and shortened life span.

A 6-month-old dwarf German shepherd dog.By permission from Ettinger SJ, Feldman E, Textbook ofVeterinary Internal Medicine, Saunders, 2004

pituitary dwarfism

see German shepherd dog dwarfism (above).

primordial dwarfism

general proportional dwarfism of all organs of the kind that has produced Kerry cattle and Miniature pinschers.

proportional dwarfism

primordial dwarfism (above).

thyroid dwarfism

hypothyroidism in an immature animal causes retarded growth and development of bones with disproportionate dwarfism. See cretinism.

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dwarfism

Nanosomia Excessively short stature–eg, ≤ 152 cm/5 ft in ♂ and ≤ 145 cm/4'9” in ♀; 35% of dwarfism is familial, 25% is idiopathic, 10% is due to pituitary failure, 10% to hypothyroidism, 10% to congenital gonadal aplasia, and the rest, etc; proper classification of the more than 55 congenital conditions associated with dwarfism allows determination of the likelihood of conceiving a similarly afflicted child. See Bird-headed dwarfism, Pituitary dwarfism, Psychosocial dwarfism, Silver-Russell dwarfism, Thanatophoric dwarfism.