an acute infectious viral disease, esp affecting children. In its paralytic form (acute anterior poliomyelitis) the brain and spinal cord are involved, causing weakness, paralysis, and wasting of muscle
Often shortened to: polio. Also called: infantile paralysis
Word origin
C19: New Latin, from Greek polios grey + muelos marrow
poliomyelitis in American English
(ˌpoʊlioʊˌmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs)
noun
an acute infectious disease, esp. of children, caused by a viral inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord: it is accompanied by paralysis of various muscle groups that sometimes atrophy, often with resulting permanent deformities