Diphtheria

(dip-the're-ah.) [FromGr. dipthera, parchment.] (Med.) A peculiar condition of the mucous membrane,when, instead of secreting pus, as in the case of ordinary inflammation, lymph is poured out in large quantities, and a thick false membrane is formed over the surface. The term has been commonly applied to the disease when it attacks the mucous membrane of the throat, but it is now extended to a similar condition of the membrane lining the eyelids (diphtheria of the conjunctiva). D. of the throat is often a ociated with very severe constitutional symptoms. [s. 289]