Definition of Syndrome, Pickwickian
Syndrome, Pickwickian: The combination of obesity, somnolence (sleepiness), hypoventilation (underbreathing), and plethoric (red) face.
The syndrome is so named because of the "fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolency" that Charles Dickens described in his novel, The Pickwick Papers. (The same boy is thought by some experts possibly to have had the Prader-Willi syndrome).
Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionaryhttp://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5658
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
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