The quantification of how much time constitutes "short" and "recent" varies by disease and by context, but the core denotation of "acute" is always qualitatively in contrast with "chronic", which denotes long-lasting disease (for example, in acute leukaemia and chronic leukaemia).
[1][2] For example, in an article on ulcerative enteritis in poultry, the author says, "in acute disease there may be increased mortality without any obvious signs",[3] referring to the acute form or phase of ulcerative enteritis.
[2] Related terms include: Peracute ("very") is not to be confused with preacute ("before", the opposite of postacute).
Acute care is the early and specialist management of adult patients who have a wide range of medical conditions requiring urgent or emergency care usually within 48 hours of admission or referral from other specialties.
[12] Signs and symptomsSyndromeDisease Medical diagnosisDifferential diagnosisPrognosis AcuteChronicCure Eponymous diseaseAcronym or abbreviationRemission