any of several encephalopathies, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie, and kuru, characterized by spongy degeneration of brain tissue and believed to result from the ingestion of a toxic protein or virus.
Main Entry: transmissible spongiform encephalopathy Function: noun : any of a group of spongiform encephalopathies (as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, and scrapie) thatare now usually considered to be caused and transmitted by prions
