also  Duchenne's muscular dystrophy  n :  a severe progressive form of muscular dystrophy of males that appears in early childhood, affects the muscles of the legs before those of the arms and the proximal muscles of the limbs before the distal ones, is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait, is characterized by complete absence of the protein dystrophin, and usu. has a fatal outcome by age 20 - see BECKER MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY  .
 
 
 
Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.  © 1997-2024.