men·in·gi·tis
n, pl -git*i*des 1 : inflammation of the meninges and esp. of the pia mater and the arachnoid 2 : a disease that may be either a mild illness caused by a virus (as the coxsackievirus) or a more severe usu. life-threatening illness caused by a bacterium (esp. the meningococcus or the serotype designated B of Hemophilus influenzae), that may be associated with fever, headache, vomiting, malaise, and stiff neck, and that if untreated in bacterial forms may progress to confusion, stupor, convulsions, coma, and death .
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