pseudo-obstruction
|pseu-do-ob-struc-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌsuːdoʊ əˈbstrʌkʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌsjuːdəʊ əˈbstrʌkʃən/
apparent (false) blockage
Etymology
'pseudo-obstruction' is formed from the combining prefix 'pseudo-' (from Greek 'pseudes' meaning 'false') and the noun 'obstruction' (from Latin 'obstructio').
'pseudo-' entered English via Neo-Latin and scientific usage (19th century onward) as a productive prefix meaning 'false' or 'resembling'. 'Obstruction' comes from Latin 'obstructio' (from 'ob-' 'against' + 'struere' 'to build'), passed into Old French and Middle English as 'obstruction' before becoming the modern English term.
Originally the elements literally meant 'false' + 'blocking'; the compound evolved into a medical term referring specifically to a condition that resembles a blockage clinically but lacks a mechanical cause.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a medical condition in which a patient shows the signs and symptoms of an intestinal (or other luminal) blockage despite the absence of any mechanical obstruction; often due to severe impairment of motility.
The patient was diagnosed with intestinal pseudo-obstruction after imaging showed no mechanical blockage.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/02 20:53