A relapse (etymologically, "who falls again") occurs when a person is affected again by a condition that affected them in the past. This could be a medical or psychological condition such as depression, bipolar disorder, cancer or an addiction to a drug. Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or sometimes unipolar when compared with bipolar 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. ... Manic Depression redirects here. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... Addiction is a chronic disorder proposed to be precipitated by a combination of genetic, biological/pharmacological and social factors. ... Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions related to taking a psychoactive drug or performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect. ...

For example, if a someone who had problems with alcohol were to give up alcohol and then later start drinking again, this drinking might be considered a relapse. It is different from a slip or lapse in that it implies a return to previous behaviour patterns, as opposed to a one-time occurrence. A slip (also sometimes called a lapse) is a psychological term that denotes a particular action during or after (most usually after) a psychological or medical treatment. ...

Relapse is a particularly important term in cancer therapy. For example, after initial treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, the patient goes into a remission stage. In many cases, the patient is considered treated. It is not possible to completely eradicate cancer from the body (0 cancer cells). If the disease comes back, this is considered a relapse. Hodgkins disease is a type of lymphoma described by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832, and characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. ... Remission is the state of absence of disease activity in patients with known chronic illness. ...

For the Spanish Inquisition, a relapse was a Jew who converted to Christianity and later returned to Judaism. This was considered a sin and punished. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and was under the direct control of the Spanish monarchy. ... Spanish for converted one, converso (feminine conversa) referred to Jews or Muslims or the descendants of Jews or Muslims who had converted, sometimes unwillingly, to Catholicism in Spain, particularly during the 1300s and 1400s. ...