Palliation

Palliation
To palliate a disease is to treat it partially and insofar as possible, but not cure it completely. Palliation cloaks a disease. To take a case, a 91-year-old man was found to have a tumor in his lung. He did not have chest surgery because of his age and the general rule that cancer moves more slowly with age. Instead, he had radiotherapy of the tumor: palliation, to slow the progression of local disease, as opposed to a cure. The Latin "pallium" referred to a type of cloak in ancient Greece and Rome and, later, to a white woolen band with pendants in front and back worn by the pope or an archbishop as a symbol of full episcopal authority. Pallium was modified to form "palliate," an adjective meaning "cloaked" or "concealed" and a verb meaning "to cloak," "to cloth," or "to shelter." Today "palliation" implies the disguising or concealing of badness or evil and suggests the alleviation of the vile effects of wickedness or illness.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Palliation — Pal li*a tion, n. [Cf. F. palliation.] 1. The act of palliating, or state of being palliated; extenuation; excuse; as, the palliation of faults, offenses, vices. [1913 Webster] 2. Mitigation; alleviation, as of a disease. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 3 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Palliation — (Linderung, aus lat. ‚pallium‘ (Mantel) bzw. ‚palliare‘ (mit einem Mantel umhüllen, verbergen)) bezeichnet allgemein eine medizinische Maßnahme, deren primäres Ziel nicht der Erhalt (Prophylaxe), die Genesung (Heilung) oder die Wiederherstellung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • palliation — [paljɑsjɔ̃] n. f. ÉTYM. V. 1560; poliation, v. 1455; pauliation « adoucissement de la douleur », 1314; bas lat. palliatio. ❖ 1 Méd. anc. Action de pallier un mal, une douleur. 2 (V. 1455). Fig., vx. Fait de donner un aspect favorable à ce qui est …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • palliation — index abatement (reduction), extenuating circumstances, justification, mitigation, moderation, mollification, relief ( …   Law dictionary

  • palliation — (pal li a sion ; en vers, de cinq syllabes) s. f. 1°   Action de pallier, déguisement. Palliation d une faute. •   Ne suffisait il pas d avoir permis aux hommes tant de choses défendues par les palliations que vous y avez apportées ?, PASC. Prov …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • PALLIATION — s. f. Déguisement, action de pallier. Ce n est pas une justification, c est une palliation. En ce sens, il a vieilli.  Il signifie quelquefois, en termes de Médecine, Adoucissement, modération de la douleur et des symptômes les plus violents Il… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • palliation — Relief of symptoms and suffering caused by cancer and other life threatening diseases. Palliation helps a patient feel more comfortable and improves the quality of life, but does not cure the disease …   English dictionary of cancer terms

  • palliation — palliate ► VERB 1) make (the symptoms of a disease) less severe without removing the cause. 2) make (something bad) less severe. DERIVATIVES palliation noun. ORIGIN Latin palliare to cloak …   English terms dictionary

  • palliation — noun see palliate …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • palliation — See palliate. * * * …   Universalium

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