n :  an inflammatory connective tissue disease of unknown cause that occurs chiefly in women and that is characterized esp. by fever, skin rash, and arthritis, often by acute hemolytic anemia, by small hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, by inflammation of the pericardium, and in serious cases by involvement of the kidneys and central nervous system - called also systemic lupus  .
 
 
 
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