decompensation

decompensation

 [de″kom-pen-sa´shun]

1. any failure of homeostatic mechanisms.

2. inability of the heart to maintain adequate circulation; it is marked by dyspnea, venous engorgement, cyanosis, and edema.

3. in psychiatry, the failure of defense mechanisms, which results in progressive personality disintegration.

de·com·pen·sa·tion

(dē'kom-pen-sā'shŭn), Avoid substituting this word for deterioration or failure in cases where there has been no previous compensation.

1. A failure of compensation in heart disease.

2. The appearance or exacerbation of a mental disorder due to failure of defense mechanisms.

decompensation

(dē′kŏm-pən-sā′shən)

n.

1. Medicine The inability of a bodily organ or system, especially the circulatory system, to maintain adequate physiological function in the presence of disease.

2. Psychology The inability to maintain defense mechanisms in response to stress, resulting in personality disturbance or psychological imbalance.

---

de·com′pen·sate′ v.

decompensation

Medtalk An acute exacerbation or worsening of a clinical condition–eg schizophrenia, renal failure, liver failure, which had been held in check by compensatory mechanisms Psychiatry The exacerbation of a mental condition–eg schizophrenia, that occurs when corrective mechanisms cannot maintain the individual at an optimal level of functioning; the deterioration of existing defenses, leading to an exacerbation of pathologic behavior. See Nervous breakdown.

de·com·pen·sa·tion

(dē-kom'pĕn-sā'shŭn)

1. A failure of compensation in heart disease.

2. The appearance or exacerbation of a mental disorder due to failure of defense mechanisms.

decompensation

Failure of an organ to fulfill its function adequately. Examples: corneal decompensation following years of extended contact lens wear; a failure of the eye movement system to overcome a heterophoria.