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Elephantiasis
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<h2 id="cause">Cause</h2> <p>Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include the following: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Elephantiasis_nostras/byu4E1qC">Elephantiasis nostras</a>, due to longstanding chronic <a href="/facts/Lymphangitis/SRYw8ha7">lymphangitis</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Elephantiasis_tropica/F2xm8pYq">Elephantiasis tropica</a> (known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly <i><a href="/facts/Wuchereria_bancrofti/lyjnk9Fr">Wuchereria bancrofti</a></i>. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nonfilarial_elephantiasis/2Mmg4Qfk">Nonfilarial elephantiasis</a> (or podoconiosis), an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels</li> <li><a href="/facts/Leishmaniasis/L5v8Thy1">Leishmaniasis</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>Elephantiasis, Grade 3 <a href="/facts/Lymphedema/BLCUBCvY">lymphedema</a>, which may occur in people with <a href="/facts/Breast_cancer/6hME580v">breast cancer</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li>Genital elephantiasis, result of <a href="/facts/Lymphogranuloma_venereum/fYocKap5">lymphogranuloma venereum</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Proteus_syndrome/Jqv36vkS">Proteus syndrome</a>, a genetic disorder best known as the condition possibly experienced by <a href="/facts/Joseph_Merrick/GV455Iql">Joseph Merrick</a>, the so-called Elephant Man</li></ul> <p>Other causes may include the following: </p> <ul><li>Repeated streptococcal infection<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li> <li>Lymphadenectomy<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li>Hereditary birth defects<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Pretibial_myxedema/D4kh7joU">Pretibial myxedema</a></li></ul> <p>Other diseases, such as the rare <a href="/facts/Klippel%25E2%2580%2593Tr%25C3%25A9naunay_syndrome/Is5N8M3P">Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome</a>, can initially be misdiagnosed as elephantiasis. </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Elephantiasis">"Elephantiasis" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica/CEyVsjlN">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. VIII (9th ed.). 1878. p. 126.</li> <li><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lymphatic-filariasis">"Lymphatic filariasis"</a>. <i>World Health Organization</i>. Retrieved 1 June 2018.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Definition of ELEPHANTIASIS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Definition of ELEPHANTIASIS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Carlson, Emily (27 March 2013). "Taking the 'Bite' Out of Vector-Borne Diseases - Inside Life Science Series - National Institute of General Medical Sciences". publications.nigms.nih.gov. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180728010133/https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidelifescience/vector-borne-diseases.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180728010133/https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidelifescience/vector-borne-diseases.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Lymphedema". National Cancer Institute. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016. <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema/lymphedema-pdq" target="_blank">https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema/lymphedema-pdq</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28 <a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis" target="_blank">https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/elephantiasis</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>