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Medical Dictionary

gout

Pronunciation (gowt)
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  1. A disorder of purine metabolism, occurring especially in men, characterized by a raised but variable blood uric acid level and severe recurrent acute arthritis of sudden onset resulting from deposition of crystals of sodium urate in connective tissues and articular cartilage; most cases are inherited, resulting from a variety of abnormalities of purine metabolism. The familial aggregation is for the most part galtonian with a threshold of expression determined by the solubility of uric acid. However, gout is also a feature of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, an X-linked disorder [MIM*308000].

[L. gutta, drop]

WebMD Medical Reference from "Stedman's Medical Dictionary"

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