Mumps

[Du., mompen, to mumble]. An acute infectious disease characterized by swelling of the parotid and at times of the other salivary glands. After a period of incubation of from two to three weeks, the disease begins with fever and pain below the ear; soon a tense, painful swelling forms in the region of the parotid gland, rendering mastication and deglutition difficult and painful. In the course of a week the swelling subsides without suppuration. The most frequent complication is orchitis; in rare cases the ovaries are affected. 407