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Medical Definition of Nerve compression syndromes
1. Repeated or prolonged pressure on a nerve root or peripheral nerve leading to ischemia, the response to which is oedema above and below the source of pressure. If the pressure is not relieved, fibrosis tends to develop. Types of nerve compression syndromes are the neuropathy caused by intervertebral disk herniation, compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel, compression of the ulnar nerve in the elbow, and compression of the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh in meralgia paresthetica. This is also called pressure neuropathy. (12 Dec 1998)