Pronunciation: - ˌ pan-in- ˌ se-f ə - ' l ī -t ə s
Function: noun
Etymology: panencephalitis from New Latin, from pan- + encephalitis
Date: 1950
: a usually fatal neurological disease of children and young adults caused by infection of the brain by a previously latent measles virus that is marked especially by intellectual deterioration, behavioral changes, myoclonic seizures, progressive deterioration of motor and mental functioning, and coma