Inflammation of the decidua (the uterine lining during pregnancy).
From 'decidua' plus the medical suffix '-itis' meaning inflammation. This medical term emerged in the late 1800s as doctors developed more precise language for pregnancy complications and pathological conditions.
Deciduitis is a serious but rare complication that doctors had to invent a word for once microscopes revealed inflammation in the postpartum uterus. Understanding this condition helped medicine move from guesswork toward preventing dangerous infections after childbirth.
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