What does hydrops mean?
Hydrops is a chiefly medical term for an abnormal accumulation of watery fluid in body tissues or cavities. It corresponds closely to edema, although it can denote a marked or widespread accumulation, as in the historical condition called dropsy. The word is uncommon in general modern prose but remains important in pathology, cardiology, obstetrics, and veterinary medicine. It is especially familiar through hydrops fetalis, a serious condition in which fluid accumulates in fetal tissues and body cavities. In earlier English medical writing, hydrops was used broadly for the symptom of marked swelling rather than for every modern diagnosis corresponding to edema. Its Greek and Latin inheritance gives it an unmistakably learned character, while its survival in specialized compounds shows how old medical vocabulary persists. Understanding hydrops is useful because it connects a current clinical term with the history of diagnosis and with the idiomatic expression hydrops fetalis, which remains in active use.
nounAn abnormal accumulation of fluid in body tissues or cavities, especially a marked or widespread form of edema. The term is chiefly used in medicine, veterinary medicine, and historical medical writing.
- The abnormal accumulation of fluid in tissues or body cavities, particularly a generalized condition associated with edema.
"The autopsy confirmed severe hydrops, with fluid accumulating throughout the tissues."
"The prenatal scan showed signs of hydrops in the fetus."
"In the seventeenth century, physicians described the patient's swelling as hydrops, the condition now generally called edema."
The plural is uncommon, and the word is often used in the singular or as a mass noun in specialized expressions.
"The clinician documented hydropses affecting multiple organs."
Hydrops is the old physician's name for a body swollen with excess fluid—and it survives most vividly in the phrase “hydrops fetalis.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hydrops come from?
Hydrops entered English in the seventeenth century through Latin, from Greek hýdōps, a compound formed from hýdōr, meaning “water.” The Greek term referred to dropsy or the accumulation of fluid, while the Latin form passed directly into learned English medical vocabulary. Its relatives hydrogen, hydraulic, and hydra share the same ancient Greek root for “water,” although their later meanings developed independently.
Related word forms
How hydrops is actually used
Chiefly formal and technical. The word is uncommon in general modern prose but remains established in pathology, obstetrics, and veterinary medicine; “dropsy” is chiefly historical or literary.