dysfunction [dɪs'fʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n] 

n. 功能紊乱；机能障碍

图片来源：视觉中国

As strange medical cases go, this one is quite the collector's item: A 60-year-old woman ate so much wasabi, believing it to be the similarly coloured avocado, that she developed a type of heart dysfunction typically brought on by intense emotional or physical stress.
就奇怪的医学案例而言，这个案例相当吸引人了：一名60岁的女子因吃了太多芥末而患上了一种通常由紧张的情绪或生理压力引起的心脏功能障碍，而她以为那是颜色相似的鳄梨（牛油果）。
 

The bizarre series of events – like many tales of excess – began to unfold at a wedding, but here it was the sushi condiment rather than alcohol that caused the drama.
就像许多荒诞的故事一样，这一系列离奇的事件开始于一场婚礼，但引发了这场闹剧的是寿司调料而不是酒精。

Based on the details we have in the case report, we don't know how the mix up happened, but the woman somehow mistook the wasabi laid out for seasoning as the green fruit. The next day, she found herself in hospital.
根据我们从案件报告中所掌握的细节，我们不知道这是怎么被搞混的，但是这位女士不知怎么地把这种芥末调味品错当成了那种绿色水果。第二天，她发现自己进了医院。

"After she ate the wasabi, she felt a sudden pressure in her chest radiating to her arms, which lasted [a] few hours," explains the case report. "She decided not to leave the wedding and the pain started to subside."
“她吃完芥末后，突然觉得胸口有一股压力向手臂延伸，并且持续了几个小时，”病例报告解释道。“她并没有决定离开婚礼现场，而且这种痛苦也开始平息。
”

"On the following day, she felt weakness and general discomfort, prompting her to seek medical evaluation."
“第二天，她感到虚弱而且全身不适，这促使她前去进行了医疗评估。”

From a medical perspective, this case is well worth noting: the condition that the wasabi brought on, takotsubo cardiomyopathy (or 'broken heart syndrome'), causes the left ventricle to suddenly and temporarily get weaker under stress.
从医学的角度来看，这个病例非常值得关注：芥末引起的应激性心肌病（或“心碎综合症”）会导致左心室在压力下暂时性地突然变弱。

The symptoms of takotsubo cardiomyopathy - so named because the left ventricle adopts the shape of a Japanese octopus-trapping jar called a takotsubo - tend to look like a heart attack, with chest pains among the consequences.
应激性心肌病的症状往往看起来像心脏病发作，引起胸痛等症状。因为左心室的形状就像日本章鱼捕捉器takotsubo的形状一样，所以这种心肌病被称为takotsubo心肌病。

What's less clear is what actually causes broken heart syndrome, which is where this patient's unusual experience could provide valuable clues – something in the wasabi seems to have set off the condition, rather than any stress.
究竟是什么引起了心碎综合症还不太清楚，但这名患者不同寻常的经历可能会提供有价值的线索——使她患病的似乎是芥末中的某种物质，而不是任何压力。

 

今日词汇

dysfunction [dɪs'fʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n] 

n. 功能紊乱；机能障碍

 

从这个词的构成dys+function，不难猜出意思

 

kidney and liver dysfunction
肝肾功能失调

 

His severe emotional dysfunction was very apparent.
很显然，他情绪严重失调。