ainhumn.
/ˈeɪnhəm/, /ʌɪˈnjuːm/, U.S. /ˈeɪnhəm/, /aɪˈnjum/ Medicine.
A condition in which a constricting fibrous band develops at the base of one or more toes or fingers (esp. the fifth toe), often leading to the loss of affected digits.The cause of ainhum is unknown; it most commonly occurs in the tropics and affects males of black African descent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > [noun] > of the digits
ainhum1867
toeing1871
baseball finger1873
phalangitis1877
Raynaud1883
mallet finger1894
toe-drop1899
white finger1918
1867 Trans. Pathol. Soc. London 18 277 The roundish organ exhibited, resembling a diminutive potato, is the principal part of the little toe of a negro affected with the pathological condition called ‘Ainhum’.
1898 P. Manson Trop. Dis. vii. 599 Ainhum is very rare in women or children, being most common in adult males.
1923 Geogr. Teacher 12 107 The number of those [sc. tropical diseases] which are confined literally to the regions of the ‘tropics’ are but few and relatively unimportant, e.g., mycetoma and ainhum.
1992 F. J. McLynn Hearts of Darkness iii. xi. 249 There were also a few local specialties such as ainhum, a Gold coast ailment that led to amputation of the toes.
2006 Jrnl. Clin. Forensic Med. 13 284/2 Muir considered a case in which the perpetrator of a crime, whose footprints were found at the scene exhibited double ainhum creating a potential link between the footprint and miscreant.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1867