gelosis

noun

1. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)A localized hardening or stiffness of tissue after exposure to severe cold, supposedly caused by a colloidal change resulting in gel formation and increased viscosity in the protoplasm of cells.

   “[H.] Schade explains the effect of chilling as tending to gel the colloids in the protoplasm. Any change in the colloid condition, no matter how transient, must upset the normal processes more or less. This “gelosis” from the action of cold can be felt in the stiffness in the face and hands after brief exposure to severe cold, and he thinks similar changes may occur in internal tissues and may modify the defensive forces and entail “catching cold.””

   “The older writers, follpwing Hippocrates, held that the fluids of the body were congealed by the direct effect of the cold, and we cannot regard as otherwise than an essential reversion to these ideas the theory of certain modern writers who speak of the effect of cold being due to a colloid injury of tissues (gelosis, frigorosis).”

   “Schade, like others, holds that the pathogenic action of cold on the body is of three kinds. There is, first, the local action on the superficial parts, which causes a gel formation or gelosis, with hardening of tissue. This change in the skin or muscles can be readily measured by the elastometer or even by the finger.”

2. (archaic, countable, uncountable)A hardening or stiffness of tissue, especially in a muscle.

   “If the tension of the bowstring decreases, the bow wood relaxes equally. However, if you pull on the string, the tension of the bow increases immediately. Myofascial geloses can exist on both sides, but the pain predominantly occurs on the hypertension side.”