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Reference.org
Elephantiasis
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<p>Elephantiasis, often incorrectly called elephantitis, is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling (<a href="/facts/Edema/Q6MI3KdH">edema</a>). It is characterised by edema, <a href="/facts/Hypertrophy/4JolPfnS">hypertrophy</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fibrosis/VVSmVgr3">fibrosis</a> of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of <a href="/facts/Lymphatic_vessels/jND0hlDu">lymphatic vessels</a> (<a href="/facts/Lymphedema/BLCUBCvY">lymphedema</a>). 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 that swell parts of the subject's body to exceptionally massive proportions. </p>