adjective
- affected by or showing signs of cretinism; characterized by severe intellectual disability and physical stunting caused by thyroid hormone deficiency
Usage: medical/clinical term; now considered outdated or offensive; modern medicine uses 'congenital hypothyroidism' instead
verb
- past tense and past participle of 'cretinize': to cause or reduce to a state of cretinism
Usage: medical/historical term; rare in modern usage
Examples
- The patient's cretinized appearance was consistent with untreated congenital hypothyroidism.
- Severe iodine deficiency cretinized entire populations in isolated mountain regions.
- Modern screening programs have largely eliminated cretinized cases in developed countries.
- The historical records documented how endemic goiter cretinized children in Alpine valleys.