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Created for medical terminology, the character 瘛 is a phono-semantic compound that combines the disease radical 疒 with the phonetic 契. The radical 疒 classifies it among illness-related characters, while 契 indicates the pronunciation. Its meaning centers on involuntary muscular spasms or convulsions, particularly those afflicting children. In traditional Chinese medical literature, 瘛 is used to diagnose and describe these neurological symptoms and has never acquired metaphorical or non-medical meanings. Because it refers to a highly specific pathological condition, its usage remains strictly confined to medical and classical pediatric texts, showing no semantic drift across different periods.
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