Adjacent Words

tophus definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a deposit of urates around a joint or in the external ear; diagnostic of advanced or chronic gout [syn: tophus, chalkstone]
2: an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums [syn: tartar, calculus, tophus]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural tophi) Etymology: Latin, tufa Date: 1607 a deposit of urates in tissues (as cartilage) that is characteristic of gout

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. tophi) 1 Med. a gouty deposit of crystalline uric acid and other substances at the surface of joints. 2 Geol. = TUFA. Etymology: L, name of loose porous stones

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tophus To"phus, n.; pl. Tophi. [NL.: cf. F. tophus a mineral concretion in the joint. See Toph.] [Written also tofus.] 1. (Med.) One of the mineral concretions about the joints, and in other situations, occurring chiefly in gouty persons. They consist usually of urate of sodium; when occurring in the internal organs they are also composed of phosphate of calcium. 2. (Min.) Calcareous tufa.