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.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

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.

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de·com′pen·sate′ v.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

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.

Millodot: Dictionary of Optometry and Visual Science, 7th edition. © 2009 Butterworth-Heinemann