Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of several disorders of porphyrin metabolism, usually hereditary, characterized by the presence of large amounts of porphyrins in the blood and urine.
Wiktionary
- n. Any of several usually hereditary abnormalities of porphyrin metabolism characterized by excretion of excess porphyrins in the urine.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a genetic abnormality of metabolism causing abdominal pains and mental confusion
Etymologies
- New Latin : porphyr(in) + -ia1.
Examples
“Another symptom of porphyria is an intolerance to sulfur in foods.”
They're Alive: Real Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies
“JULIA GNUSE: I have a skin disorder called porphyria, which is similar to lupus, but it is not a life-threatening disease.”
“Another syndrome that sometimes goes hand in hand with HCV is called porphyria cutanea tarda.”
“BATH, England—Although historians today think that he suffered from a hereditary blood disorder called porphyria, not madness, King George III's erratic behavior has always baffled and intrigued in equal measure.”
The Wall Street Journal: The Witty Madness of David Haig's George III Is Fit for a King
“Later he told me that one of the patients he sees has porphyria, which is a disease that could be the origins of the vampire myth.”
“For decades, it's been relatively well accepted that the British monarch suffered from a metabolic disorder called porphyria, whose symptoms include abdominal discomfort and dark urine.”
“It seems likely that William was suffering from porphyria, which is an upset in metabolism resulting in inadequate utilization of chemicals known as porphyrins.”
“Some medical conditions may interact with Xanax: if you have glaucoma or a predisposition for glaucoma, liver problems, lung problems or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), muscle problems, depression, suicidal tendencies, a blood disorder known as porphyria, or a history of substance abuse or dependence.”
“I do eat more carbs then normal for many diabetics but I also have a condition known as AIP (Acute intermittent porphyria which is a rare autosomal dominant metabolic disorder which effects my production of heme - which also means one of the way to prevent attacks it to keep to a high carb plan not going below 150 grams in a day, which means I try to go no higher then 200 if I can well help it in a day).”
“After a few hours 'sleep, Strickland woke, unable to stop thinking about the potential porphyria trigger sequence.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘porphyria’.
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Confusually
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baffle, farrago, confound, befuddle, daze, disorient, discombobulate, stupefy, perplex, mystify, bewilder, boggle and 134 more...
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Vampires
A list of famous characters, vampire lore, and anything else having to do with the genre.
Dracula, vampire, vampire bat, vampire pumpkins ..., Nosferatu, nosferatu, Angel, Spike, Bill Compton, Count Orlok, Vlad the Impaler, Count von Count and 33 more...
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diseases that make lovely baby girl's names
usually i try to restrict this to sexually transmitted diseases, but some of the others are just so musical. Syphilis, it should be noted, would make a lovely boy's name, but that is outside the sc...
gonorrhea, chlamydia, roseola, rubella, angina, atrophy, candida, cholera, jaundice, palsy, leukemia, alopecia and 50 more...
maire i'd like to marry you,your highness, but i can't porphyria might make me clean the purple toilet bowl. Nov 1, 2007
reesetee Always was spooked by that poem....
SoG, maybe the professor had it himself? ;-) Wasn't George III thought by some to have had porphyria? Sep 22, 2007
sonofgroucho When I was a medical student we had a totally psychopathic Professor of Medicine who was an expert on porphyria. Sep 22, 2007
colleen The rain set early in tonight,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
and did its worst to vex the lake:
I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;
Which done, she rose, and from her form
Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Her hat and let the damp hair fall,
And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me--she
Too weak, for all her heart's endeavor,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me forever.
But passion sometimes would prevail,
Nor could tonight's gay feast restrain
A sudden thought of one so pale
For love of her, and all in vain:
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Happy and proud; at last I knew
Porphyria worshiped me: surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
I propped her head up as before
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:
The smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria's love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!
(Robert Browning) Sep 22, 2007