Medical Dictionary

Gaucher's disease

noun Gau·cher's disease \ˌgō-ˈshāz-\

Medical Definition of GAUCHER'S DISEASE

:  a rare hereditary disorder of lipid metabolism that is caused by an enzyme deficiency of glucocerebrosidase, that is characterized by enormous enlargement of the spleen, pigmentation of the skin, and bone lesions, and that is marked by the presence of large amounts of glucocerebroside in the cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system—compare niemann-pick disease, tay-sachs disease

Biographical Note for GAUCHER'S DISEASE

Gau·cher \gō-shā\ Philippe Charles Ernest (1854–1918), French physician. Gaucher specialized in skin diseases and syphilology. He described the disease now known as Gaucher's disease in 1882.

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