puerperal fever

noun

: an abnormal condition that results from infection of the placental site following delivery or abortion and is characterized in mild form by fever but in serious cases the infection may spread through the uterine wall or pass into the bloodstream

called also childbed fever, puerperal sepsis

Examples of puerperal fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Concluding that the medical students and obstetricians were causing puerperal fever in their pregnant patients by infecting them with cadaverous particles on their hands, Semmelweis instituted some harsh protocols. Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Holmes suggested that unwashed hands among the medical and nursing staff were responsible for transmitting puerperal fever. Gary Simon, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2023 In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes proposed that puerperal fever, an often fatal infection following childbirth, had an infectious, transmissible component to it - one directly linked to the hygiene of physicians. Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2015 This changed when Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor working in Austria, sought to find the cause behind the high number of new mothers who were contracting puerperal fever. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022 In the Vienna General Hospital, where Semmelweis worked, puerperal fever was especially common in the maternity ward where male doctors worked. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022 In 1847, the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis could not convince his fellow doctors in Vienna to wash their hands before delivering babies as a way to prevent often fatal cases of puerperal fever in new mothers. David Tuller, STAT, 17 Nov. 2020 And Semmelweis himself could never completely eliminate cases of puerperal fever, even when his protocols were strictly enforced. Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020 Semmelweis noticed that the man’s symptoms were remarkably similar to those of women suffering from puerperal fever. Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1716, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of puerperal fever was in 1716

Dictionary Entries Near puerperal fever

Cite this Entry

“Puerperal fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puerperal%20fever. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

puerperal fever

noun
: an abnormal condition that results from infection (as by streptococci) of the placental site following delivery or abortion and is characterized in mild form by fever of not over 100.4°F (38.0°C) but may progress to a localized endometritis or spread through the uterine wall and develop into peritonitis or pass into the bloodstream and produce sepsis

called also childbed fever, puerperal sepsis

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