Medical Dictionary

Ludwig's angina

noun Lud·wig's angina \ˈlüd-(ˌ)vigz-\

Medical Definition of LUDWIG'S ANGINA

:  an acute streptococcal or sometimes staphylococcal infection of the deep tissues of the floor of the mouth and adjoining parts of the neck and lower jaw that is marked by severe rapid swelling which may close the respiratory passage and that is accompanied by chills and fever

Biographical Note for LUDWIG'S ANGINA

Lud·wig \ˈlüt-vi\ Wilhelm Friedrich von (1790–1865), German surgeon. Ludwig began his career as a military physician. He saw considerable action in Russia during the Napoleonic campaign of 1812. After the war he became a professor of surgery and obstetrics at Tübingen, Germany. He also served as physician to German royal families. He published his description of Ludwig's angina in 1836.

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