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Examples of tropical sprue in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At that time, his fortunes lower than ever, two of his older brothers died of tropical sprue, an acute infectious disease of the small bowel that at the time had no known cause or treatment.
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Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 5 June 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tropical sprue.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1955, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of tropical sprue was
circa 1955
Dictionary Entries Near tropical sprue
Cite this Entry
“Tropical sprue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tropical%20sprue. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
Medical Definition
tropical sprue
noun
: a disease of tropical regions that is of unknown cause and is characterized by fatty diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, and weight loss
Though pathologically indistinguishable from nontropical sprue (i.e., gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or celiac disease), tropical sprue … does not respond to the removal of gluten from the diet …—
Edward T. Ryan et al., The New England Journal of Medicine
called also sprue
More from Merriam-Webster on tropical sprue
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tropical sprue
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