< b>Fear of fur: An abnormal and persistent fear of fur is called doraphobia.
Sufferers of this fear avoid fur-bearing animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, beavers
and rabbits because fur is repulsive to them. Perhaps some of these phobics associate
fur with childhood stories about "the big bad wolf" and other fur-bearing predators.
Their fear is not always unfounded, for many furry animals -- including bats, raccoons,
dogs and cats -- can be carriers of rabies, an acute viral infection of the central
nervous system. An animal can transmit this disease to a human through a bite and,
in rare cases, through contact with the animal's blood or tissue or even through
inhalation of the rabies virus in a bat cave. The disease is fatal unless an infected
person receives rabies shots soon after contracting the illness.
The word "doraphobia" is from Greek roots, namely "dora" (the hide or skin) +
"phobos" (fear) = fear of the skin or hide (the fur of an animal).
medical
dictionary, online medical dictionary, medical
terminology dictionary, free online medical
dictionary, medical dictionary, online medical
dictionary, medical terminology dictionary, free
online medical dictionary, dictionary medical,
dictionary medical online, dictionary medical
terminology, dictionary free medical online,
dictionary free medical, dictionary medical
terms, dictionary drug medical medicine,
dictionary health illustrated medical nursing
profession stedmans, dictionary English medical,
dictionary medical online terminology,
dictionary encyclopedia medical online,
condition dictionary medical, dictionary
medical, dictionary drug medical, medical
dictionary software, cyclopedic dictionary index
medical tabers thumb, medical dictionary, online
medical dictionary, medical terminology
dictionary
