Anorexia (deriving from the Greek "α(ν)-" (a(n)-, a prefix that denotes absence) + "όρεξη (orexe) = appetite) is the decreased sensation of appetite. While the term in non-scientific publications is often used interchangeably with one of its subtypes, anorexia nervosa, there are many possible causes for a decreased appetite, some of which may be harmless while others pose significant risk for the person. The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. ... Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion. ...

The most common form of anorexia is simply satiation following the consumption of food. This happens in all normal humans and is called postprandial anorexia. It is important and healthy as it prevents overeating and obesity. Satiety, or the feeling of fullness and disappearance of appetite after a meal, is a process mediated by the ventromedial nucleus in the hypothalamus. ...

Common disorders that cause (harmful) anorexia include anorexia nervosa, severe depression, cancer, dementia, AIDS, and chronic renal disease and the use of certain drugs, particularly stimulants and narcotics. Environmentally induced disorders, such as altitude sickness, can also trigger an acute form of anorexia. Anorexia may also be seen in congestive heart failure, perhaps due to congestion of the liver with venous blood. Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion. ... Clinical depression (also called severe depressive disorder, major depressive disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ... There are other articles with similar names; see Dementia (disambiguation). ... Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... Chronic renal failure (CRF, or chronic kidney failure, CKF) is a slowly progressive loss of renal function over a period of months or years and defined as an abnormally low glomerular filtration rate, which is usually determined indirectly by the creatinine level in blood serum. ... A stimulant is a drug which increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and produces a sense of euphoria or awakeness. ... The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word for stupor, originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). ... Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS) or altitude illness is a pathological condition that is caused by acute exposure to high altitudes. ... Congestive heart failure (CHF), also called congestive cardiac failure (CCF) or just heart failure, is a condition that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body. ... The liver is the largest internal organ of the human body. ... In the circulatory system, venous blood is blood returning to the heart. ...

Although the presenting symptom (the one which prompts a patient to seek medical attention) in acute appendicitis is abdominal pain, the presence of anorexia is required to make the final diagnosis. The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: A symptom may loosely be said to be a physical condition which shows that one has a particular illness or disorder (see... Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... Diagnosis (from the Greek words dia = by and gnosis = knowledge) is the process of identifying a disease by its signs, symptoms and results of various diagnostic procedures. ...

Some medications, antidepressants for example, can have anorexia as a side effect. Most notoriously, however, chemicals that are a member of the phenethylamine family are known to have more intense anorectic properties. For this reason, many individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa seek to use these medications as a crutch. Such prescription medications include Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, and Desoxyn. In some cases, these medications are prescribed to patients prior to undergoing an operation requiring general anesthesia. This is a prophylactic measure taken to ensure no food will back up into the esophagus and cause the patient to stop breathing during the procedure. An antidepressant is a medication used primarily in the treatment of clinical depression. ... Phenethylamine (β-Phenylethylamine) is an alkaloid and monoamine. ... Methylphenidate (C14H19NO2), or MPH, is an amphetamine-like prescription stimulant commonly used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adults. ... Adderall 25 mg XR Capsules Adderall® CII is a pharmaceutical stimulant amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy[citation needed]. Severe cases of depression may also be treated with Adderall or other stimulants[citation needed]. It was first prescribed in the 1970s as an anorectic (under the... Dextroamphetamine (also known as dextroamphetamine sulfate, dexamphetamine, dexedrine, Dexampex, Ferndex, Oxydess II, Robese, Spancap #1, and, informally, Dex), a stereoisomer of amphetamine, is an indirect-acting stimulant that releases norepinephrine from nerve terminals, thus promoting nerve impulse transmission. ... Bulk pharmaceutical bottle of Desoxyn Desoxyn® CII is a pharmaceutical form of methamphetamine hydrochloride (also known as d-methamphetamine and desoxyephedrine, hence the name Desoxyn), indicated for treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), narcolepsy, and exogenous obesity. ...