Developer site: The content shown here is test data.

MyEClinic
MyEClinic
Health Dictionary AI Health Chat Find an Online Doctor
A serene Zen garden with raked sand and smooth stones, symbolising clarity and calm

Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

Back to skin conditions

Functio laesa

Introduction

Functio laesa is a term used in medicine to refer to a loss of function[1][2] or a disturbance of function.[3]

It was identified as the fifth sign of acute inflammation by Galen,[4] who added it to the four signs identified by Celsus (tumor, rubor, calor, and dolor).

The attribution to Galen is not undisputed.[3] Origination of the phrase has also been ascribed to Thomas Sydenham[5] and Rudolf Virchow.[6]

References

  1. ↑ “Dorlands Medical Dictionary:cardinal signs”.
  2. ↑ “Definition: functio laesa from Online Medical Dictionary”.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rather LJ (1971). “Disturbance of function (functio laesa): The legendary fifth cardinal sign of inflammation, added by Galen to the four cardinal signs of Celsus”. Bull N Y Acad Med. 47 (3): 303–22. PMC 1749862. PMID 5276838. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Porth, Carol (2007). Essentials of pahtophysiology: concepts of altered health states. Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 270. ISBN 0-7817-7087-4.
  5. ↑ Dormandy, Thomas (2006). The worst of evils: man’s fight against pain. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. p. 22. ISBN 0-300-11322-6.
  6. ↑ David Lowell Strayer; Raphael Rubin (2007). Rubin’s Pathology: Clinicopathologic Foundations of Medicine 5th Edition. Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 37. ISBN 0-7817-9516-8.

Template:Inflammation

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]