Where did meningitis get its name?
The word meningitis comes from the Greek μῆνιγξ meninx, “membrane”, and the medical suffix -itis, “inflammation”.
What does the term meningitis refer to?
Related Pages. Meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. A bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord usually causes the swelling.
What is the difference between meningitis and meningitis?
While meningococcal disease and meningitis are related, they are not the same thing. Meningitis refers to an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.
How did Amy Purdy get meningitis?
Following a blood culture, the doctors diagnosed Amy with meningococcemia, a form of meningococcal disease the causes poisoning of the blood system. Amy’s organs began to fail and doctors put her into a medically-induced coma to help her body fight the infection.
How did Amy Purdy girl lose her legs?
Purdy was just 19 years old when she contracted Neisseria meningitidis, a form of bacterial meningitis. The disease affected her circulatory system when the infection led to septic shock; both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee, she lost both kidneys, and her spleen had to be removed.
What causes meningitis and what are the symptoms?
Meningitis can be caused by a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. Meningitis can be acute, with a quick onset of symptoms, it can be chronic, lasting a month or more, or it can be mild or aseptic.
When was the first recorded case of meningitis?
The first recorded observation of what might have been meningitis came from the famous Greek scholar Hippocrates (c.460-370BC), who observed the inflammation of the lining of the brain.
How often do people get meningitis in the United States?
Meningococcal meningitis is a rare but serious bacterial infection. It causes the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord to become inflamed. Each year, approximately 1,000 people in the U.S. get meningococcal disease, which includes meningitis and septicemia (blood infection).
What causes a headache and stiff neck in meningitis?
The swelling from meningitis typically triggers symptoms such as headache, fever and a stiff neck. Most cases of meningitis in the United States are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial, parasitic and fungal infections are other causes. Some cases of meningitis improve without treatment in a few weeks.
Meningitis can be caused by a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. Meningitis can be acute, with a quick onset of symptoms, it can be chronic, lasting a month or more, or it can be mild or aseptic.
The first recorded observation of what might have been meningitis came from the famous Greek scholar Hippocrates (c.460-370BC), who observed the inflammation of the lining of the brain.
Meningococcal meningitis is a rare but serious bacterial infection. It causes the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord to become inflamed. Each year, approximately 1,000 people in the U.S. get meningococcal disease, which includes meningitis and septicemia (blood infection).
The swelling from meningitis typically triggers symptoms such as headache, fever and a stiff neck. Most cases of meningitis in the United States are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial, parasitic and fungal infections are other causes. Some cases of meningitis improve without treatment in a few weeks.