Key to abbreviations: dk = dark, lt = light, m- = medium, lv = living things, mm = man-made things, m = masculine, f = feminine, n = neuter, c = common gender, pl = plural. You can find more colour words and notes on colours in individual languages by clicking on the language names that are links.
acromegaly. abnormal enlargement of the extremities of the skeleton due to overgrowth of connective tissue and increased appositional growth of bone caused by hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary gland in adults. (Marie's disease), a condition caused by hyperfunction of the pituitary gland in adults. Characterized by enlargement of the skeletal extremities, including the feet, hands, mandible, and nose. Acromegaly.
Acromegaly occurs in about 6 of every 100,000 adults. It is caused by abnormal production of growth hormone after the skeleton and other organs finish growing. Excessive production of growth hormone in children causes gigantism rather than acromegaly. The cause of the increased growth hormone release is usually a noncancerous (benign) tumor of the pituitary gland.