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or·phan pro·ducts

drugs, biologicals, and medical devices (including diagnostic in vitro tests) that may be useful in either common or rare diseases but that are not considered commercially viable.
Synonym(s): orphan drugs
A minor child permanently bereft through death, disappearance, abandonment or desertion, separation or loss of both parents, who must be cared for by another, usually an adult, an agency, or who becomes wards of the state
Frequency Globally, orphans represent 7.6% of all children; China is lowest at < 1%; Africa is highest at 12%
Half orphan A child who has lost one parent
Maternal orphan A child who has lost the mother
Paternal orphan A child who has lost the father
Double orphan A child who has lost both parents


Social medicine A person, usually a dependent child, whose parents have died or are presumed dead and thus must be cared for by another person or agency


a newborn animal without a dam.

orphan virus
usually enteroviruses, that have no known disease attributed to them.

Patient discussion about orphan

Q. What do we do with her? She is an orphan and has only uncle and aunt who don’t want her. I am living with my roommate for the past 1 year. Something strange and new is happening these days. She wanders off somewhere, leaving me guessing. She won’t tell me where or for what purpose she goes. Someone`s valuables are often found in her bag. I am sure it’s been stolen by her. Her contacts with boys have increased and she is regularly going out with them. When I tried to advise her, she started her activities again but on a discreet note. I don’t know what’s happening. Nowadays she remains depressed and sad. She sleeps a lot. She has stopped going for her classes after she had a fight with our classmate. What do we do with her? She is an orphan and has only uncle and aunt who don’t want her.

A. she is a student? if so- any college or university has a psychologist standing by and ready to help in those kind of cases. if not- be a good friend. talk to her, try to show her that her life changed very fast in a very extreme way and she may need help. a psychiatrist maybe..
tell us

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References in periodicals archive ?
He said that books, stationary and begs were included in the education package, distributed among score of orphaned and poor students of different areas of the agency.