in-custody death syndrome
n.— «A condition known as “excited delirium,” sometimes also referred to as “in-custody death syndrome,” has been attributed by some US and Canadian coroners to a number of deaths in custody, especially in the case of persons on drugs or suffering from psychosis. It is a combination of signs and symptoms, including dangerously elevated body temperature levels, leading to sudden death. The theory relating to such a syndrome is controversial and disputed by some medical experts.» —“Canada: Excessive and lethal force?” Amnesty International Nov. 30, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...
Janet in Montgomery, Alabama, reports that a day after she had surgery on her hand, the wound burst open, and a doctor noted that her wound dehisced. She’s used to hearing dehisce used in botany to mean the splitting of a plant structure to...