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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

IntroIndex©

DROPSY*

Old medical term for excessive accumulation of watery fluid in any tissue or space of the body. Dropsy, mentioned in Luke 14:2, is a symptom of several serious disorders such as heart, kidney, or liver disease; Jesus healed a man “who had dropsy” but whose underlying illness is not described. The word “dropsy” has generally been replaced with more specific medical terms: excessive abdominal fluid is now referred to as ascites, cutaneous or subcutaneous dropsy as edema, and pleural dropsy as hydrothorax. Dropsy is not mentioned directly in the OT. A reference to swollen feet (Dt 8:4) could refer to pedal edema or simply to the formation of blisters.

See also Medicine and Medical Practice.