from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sclerosis \Scle*ro"sis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. (??, fr. sklhro`s
hard.]
1. (Med.) Induration; hardening; especially, that form of
induration produced in an organ by increase of its
interstitial connective tissue.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) Hardening of the cell wall by lignification.
[1913 Webster]
{Cerebro-spinal sclerosis} (Med.), an affection in which
patches of hardening, produced by increase of the
neuroglia and atrophy of the true nerve tissue, are found
scattered throughout the brain and spinal cord. It is
associated with complete or partial paralysis, a peculiar
jerking tremor of the muscles, headache, and vertigo, and
is usually fatal. Formerly referred to as {multiple
sclerosis}, {disseminated sclerosis}, or {insular
sclerosis}, but now usually called only {multiple
sclerosis}, or {MS}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]