Pickwickian syndrome

Pickwickian syndrome
The combination of obesity, somnolence (sleepiness), hypoventilation (underbreathing), and plethoric (red) face. The syndrome is so named because of the "fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolency" that Charles Dickens described in his novel, The Pickwick Papers. (The same boy is thought by some experts possibly to have had the Prader-Willi syndrome).

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Pick·wick·ian syndrome (')pik-'wik-ē-ən- n obesity accompanied by somnolence and lethargy, hypoventilation, hypoxia, and secondary polycythemia
Pick·wick 'pik-.wik Samuel literary character. Pickwick is the title character in the novel The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836-37) by Charles Dickens. In the novel one of the characters, Joe, is described as a „fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolence.” The term Pickwickian syndrome was first used by C. S. Burwell in an article on the syndrome in 1956. The name was chosen because Dickens's description was the first description of the syndrome found in literature.

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pick·wick·i·an syndrome (pik-wikґe-ən) [from the description of Joe, the fat boy in Dickens' Pickwick Papers] see under syndrome.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Pickwickian syndrome — Pathol. an abnormality characterized by extreme obesity accompanied by sleepiness, hypoventilation, and polycythemia. Also, Pickwick syndrome. [1955 60; named for Joe, a character in Dickens The Pickwick Papers who exhibited symptoms of the… …   Universalium

  • Pickwickian syndrome — noun obesity hypoventilation syndrome …   Wiktionary

  • Pickwickian syndrome — Pathol. an abnormality characterized by extreme obesity accompanied by sleepiness, hypoventilation, and polycythemia. Also, Pickwick syndrome. [1955 60; named for Joe, a character in Dickens The Pickwick Papers who exhibited symptoms of the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Syndrome de pickwick — Le Syndrome de Pickwick a été décrit en 1956 par C.S.Burwell et ses collaborateurs [1]. Ils comparent alors la maladie du personnage des romans de Dickens, au syndrome d obésité extrême associée à l hypoventilation alvéolaire auquel ils donnent… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Syndrome de Pickwick — The Pickwick Club, titré « The Fat Boy awake » de Dickens Le Syndrome de Pickwick a été décrit en 1956 par C.S.Burwell et ses collaborateurs[1]. Ils comparent alors la maladie du personnag …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Syndrome, Pickwickian — The combination of obesity, somnolence (sleepiness), hypoventilation (underbreathing), and plethoric (red) face. The syndrome is so named because of the fat and red faced boy in a state of somnolency that Charles Dickens described in his novel,… …   Medical dictionary

  • syndrome — The aggregate of symptoms and signs associated with any morbid process, and constituting together the picture of the disease. SEE ALSO: disease. [G. s., a running together, tumultuous concourse; (in med.) a concurrence of symptoms, fr. syn,… …   Medical dictionary

  • Obesity hypoventilation syndrome — Classification and external resources Obesity hypoventilation syndrome often improves with positive airway pressure treatment administered overnight by a machine such as this device ICD 10 …   Wikipedia

  • obesity-hypoventilation syndrome — a complex of obesity, somnolence, hypoventilation, and erythrocytosis; called also pickwickian s …   Medical dictionary

  • The Pickwick Papers — For the 1952 film, see The Pickwick Papers (film). For the 1985 television series, see The Pickwick Papers (1985 television series). The Pickwick Papers   …   Wikipedia

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