Definition

A medical condition caused by having too much thyroid hormone in the body, often leading to symptoms like weight loss, rapid heartbeat, and anxiety.

Example

The doctor diagnosed her with thyrotoxicosis after she reported symptoms of increased heart rate and weight loss.

Conversation

I was reading about health conditions, and I came across thyrotoxicosis.

Oh really? What does that mean?

It's when there's too much thyroid hormone in the body, usually from hyperthyroidism.

That sounds serious! How do people usually treat it?

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Thyrotoxicosis is formed from "thyro-" (from Greek "thyreos", meaning shield, referring to the thyroid gland's shape) and "toxicosis" (from Greek "toxikon", meaning poison, and "osis", meaning condition). The term describes a condition caused by an excess of thyroid hormones, which can be toxic to the body.

Memory Tip

Think of the 'thyroid' gland shaped like a 'shield' ('thyro-') and the 'condition' ('-osis') of having too much 'poison' ('toxicosis') in the body from excess hormones.

Visually Confused Words