poliomyelitis

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

poliomyelitis
    n 1: an acute viral disease marked by inflammation of nerve
         cells of the brain stem and spinal cord [syn:
         {poliomyelitis}, {polio}, {infantile paralysis}, {acute
         anterior poliomyelitis}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Infantile paralysis \In"fan*tile pa*ral"y*sis\ (Med.)
   An acute viral disease, affecting almost exclusively infants
   and young adults, characterized by inflammation of the
   anterior horns of the gray substance of the spinal cord. It
   is attended with febrile symptoms, motor paralysis, and
   muscular atrophy, often producing permanent deformities.
   Called also {acute anterior poliomyelitis}, {poliomyelitis}
   and {polio}. It is caused by any one of three polioviruses,
   and by the end of the twentieth century had been almost
   completely eradicated in developed countries by a widespread
   campaign of immunization.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]