Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling. It is characterised by

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels. It may affect the genitalia. The term elephantiasis is often used in reference to (symptoms caused by) parasitic worm infections, but may refer to a variety of diseases where parts of a person's body swell to massive proportions. __TOC__

Cause

Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include: * Elephantiasis nostras, due to longstanding chronic lymphangitis *

Elephantiasis tropica Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. While most cases have no symptoms, some people develop a syndrome ...

(known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly ''

Wuchereria bancrofti ''Wuchereria bancrofti'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, together with ''Brugia malayi'' and '' B. timori'', that infect the lymphatic ...

''. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected. * Nonfilarial elephantiasis (or podoconiosis), an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels *

Leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus '' Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, '' Phlebotomus'' and ''Lutzomyia'', and occurs most f ...

* Elephantiasis, Grade 3

lymphedema Lymphedema, also known as lymphoedema and lymphatic edema, is a condition of localized swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system. The lymphatic system functions as a critical portion of the body's immune system and returns interstitial fl ...

which may occur in people with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

* Genital elephantiasis, result of lymphogranuloma venereum *

Proteus syndrome Proteus syndrome is a rare disorder with a genetic background that can cause tissue overgrowth involving all three embryonic lineages. Patients with Proteus syndrome tend to have an increased risk of embryonic tumor development.Freedberg, et al. ...

, a genetic disorder best known as the condition possibly experienced by

Joseph Merrick Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

, the so-called "Elephant Man." Other causes may include: * Repeated streptococcal infection * Lymphadenectomy * Hereditary birth defects * Pretibial myxedema

References

External links

* {{set index article Symptoms and signs: Skin and subcutaneous tissue Diseases of veins, lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes