gout

n. [ F. goutte a drop, the gout, the disease being considered as a defluxion, fr. L. gutta drop. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A drop; a clot or coagulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

On thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) A constitutional disease, occurring by paroxysms. It consists in an inflammation of the fibrous and ligamentous parts of the joints, and almost always attacks first the great toe, next the smaller joints, after which it may attack the greater articulations. It is attended with various sympathetic phenomena, particularly in the digestive organs. It may also attack internal organs, as the stomach, the intestines, etc. It is an inherited disease of purine metaboism, which causes an increased level of uric acid in the blood, and leads to deposition of crystals of sodium urate in cartilage within joints and in connective tissue. It can be alleviated by a diet low in purines, and is treated by drugs which block formation of uric acid. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. A disease of cornstalks. See Corn fly, under Corn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gout stones. See Chalkstone, n., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]