cretinism

[kreet-n-iz-uh m or, esp. British, kret-] /ˈkrit nˌɪz əm or, esp. British, ˈkrɛt-/

noun, Pathology

a congenital disease due to absence or deficiency of normal thyroid secretion, characterized by physical deformity, dwarfism, and mental retardation, and often by goiter.

Origin

1795-1805; < French crétinisme. See cretin, -ism

Examples from the web for cretinism

These effects have been implicated in the etiology of myxedematous cretinism.

British Dictionary definitions for cretinism

cretinism

/ˈkrɛtɪˌnɪzəm/

noun

(old-fashioned) a condition arising from a deficiency of thyroid hormone, present from birth, characterized by dwarfism and mental retardation See also myxoedema

cretinism in Medicine

cretinism cre·tin·ism (krēt'n-ĭz'əm)
n.
A congenital condition due to thyroid hormone deficiency during fetal development and marked in childhood by dwarfed stature, mental retardation, dystrophy of the bones, and a low basal metabolism. Also called congenital myxedema, cretinoid dysplasia.