spongiform Definition

any of various degenerative diseases of the brain characterized by the development of porous spongelike lesions in brain tissue and by deterioration in neurological functioning; specifically : prion disease

a fatal prion disease of cattle that affects the nervous system, resembles or is identical to scrapie of sheep and goats, and is probably transmitted by infected tissue in food —abbreviation BSE—called also mad cow disease

prion disease —abbreviation TSE

any of a group of spongiform encephalopathies that are caused by prions and that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, scrapie, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease —called also transmissible spongiform encephalopathy