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Definition of: poliomyelitis
(pol′ē·ō·mī′ə·lī′tis, pō′lē-) noun Pathol.
An acute, communicable disease caused by infection with a virus, occurring especially in children, and characterized by inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord, followed by paralysis and atrophy of various muscle groups: also called infantile paralysis. [<NL <POLIO- + Gk. myelos marrow + -ITIS]
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