mad cow disease

bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Origin of mad cow disease

1985–90

Words nearby mad cow disease

macías nguema biyogo, mad, mad about, mad as a hatter, mad as a hornet, mad cow disease, mad hatter syndrome, mad money, mad rush, mad-dog, mad-dog skullcap

British Dictionary definitions for mad cow disease

mad cow disease

noun

an informal name for BSE

Medical definitions for mad cow disease

mad cow disease

n.

bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Scientific definitions for mad cow disease

mad cow disease
[ măd ]

A degenerative neurologic disease of cattle, thought to be caused by infection-causing agents called prions, in which brain tissues deteriorate and take on a spongy appearance, resulting in abnormal behaviors and loss of muscle control. A variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is transmitted to humans through the eating of infected cattle tissue. Also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Cultural definitions for mad cow disease

mad cow disease

A lethal disease that originates in cows and can spread to humans through consumption of affected neural tissue. It is called Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease in humans. It causes the brain to deteriorate through the instrument of an infectious protein called a prion.