LATHYRISM

[lath.y.rism] n [NL Lathyrus, fr. Gk lathyros, a type of pea] (ca. 1888): a diseased condi tion of humans, domestic animals, and esp. horses that results from poisoning by a substance found in some legumes (genus Lathyrus and esp. L. sativus) and is characterized esp. by spastic paralysis of the hind or lower limbs