Appeal No. 95-0885
Application 07/725,327
in their specification as being hypertension of unknown etiology (specification, p. 1, lines 11 and 12).
Appellants did not define the meaning of “hypertension”. It would appear from the Mark and Kurtz
I declarations that hypertension is everything which “essential hypertension” is not. Stedman’s
Medical Dictionary defines “hypertension” follows:5
hypertension (hi’per-ten’shun) [hyper- + L. tensio, tension]. High blood pressure.
adrenal h., h. due to a pheochromocytoma.
benign h., essential h. that runs a relatively long and symptomless course.
essential h., hyperpiesis; primary h.; idiopathic h.; h. without
preexisting renal disease or unknown cause.
Goldblatt’s h., Goldblatt phenomenon.
idiopathic h., essential h.
malignant h., severe h. that runs a rapid course, causing necrosis of arteriolar
walls in kidney, retina, etc. Hemorrhages occur, and death most
frequently is caused by uremia or rupture of a cerebral vessel.
pale h., h. with pallor of the skin, a severe form with pronounced constriction
of peripheral vessels.
portal h., h. in the portal system as seen in cirrhosis of the liver and other
conditions causing obstruction to the portal vein.
postpartum h., increased tension or blood pressure during the six weeks
immediately following the completion of labor.
primary h., essential h.
pulmonary h., h. in the pulmonary circuit; It may be primary, or secondary
to pulmonary or cardiac disease, e.g., fibrosis of the lung or mitral
stenosis.
renal h., h. secondary to renal disease.
renovascular h., h. produced by renal arterial obstruction.
It is clear from Steadman’s definition that “hypertension” is a generic term and encompasses
“essential hypertension.” Thus, the terms are distinct, but only to the extent that “hypertension” is
5Steadman’s Medical Dictionary, 24th Edition, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, Maryland, pages 676-77
(1982). A copy is attached to this decision.
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