Medical Terminology Flashcards: Musculoskeletal System Terms, Bones, Joints, Muscles

Osteoporosis means a condition of porous bones, from osteo meaning bone and porosis meaning porous condition. It is a progressive disease where bone density and quality decrease, making bones fragile and prone to fractures from minor falls or even coughing. The bones become like a sponge with larger holes. Risk factors include aging, female sex, menopause, low calcium and vitamin D intake, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and long-term corticosteroid use. Common fracture sites are the hip, spine, and wrist.

Arthritis means inflammation of a joint, from arthr meaning joint and itis meaning inflammation. There are over 100 types, with osteoarthritis being degenerative wear and tear and rheumatoid arthritis being an autoimmune condition. Arthroplasty means surgical repair or reconstruction of a joint, from arthr meaning joint and plasty meaning surgical repair. Total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty are common joint replacement surgeries for severe arthritis.

Myalgia means muscle pain, from myo meaning muscle and algia meaning pain. It is a symptom that can result from overuse, injury, infection, medication side effects such as statins, or systemic conditions like fibromyalgia. Myopathy means muscle disease, from myo meaning muscle and pathy meaning disease. Myopathy refers to a group of disorders where muscle fibers do not function properly, causing weakness rather than just pain. Myopathies can be inherited like muscular dystrophy or acquired like inflammatory myopathies.

Osteomyelitis means infection and inflammation of bone and bone marrow. The term breaks into osteo meaning bone, myel meaning marrow, and itis meaning inflammation. It is usually caused by bacteria, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus, that reach the bone through the bloodstream, direct contamination from open fractures or surgery, or spread from nearby infected tissue. Symptoms include bone pain, fever, swelling, warmth, and redness over the affected area.

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral, or sideways, curvature of the spine, from scolio meaning crooked or curved and osis meaning condition. It most commonly develops during adolescence and ranges from mild to severe. Kyphosis is an excessive forward curvature of the upper back, from kypho meaning hunchback and osis meaning condition, creating a rounded or hunched posture. The related term lordosis means excessive inward curvature of the lower back, from lordo meaning bent backward.

Tendinitis means inflammation of a tendon, from tendin meaning tendon and itis meaning inflammation. Tendons are tough fibrous cords that connect muscles to bones. Tendinitis commonly occurs in the shoulder as rotator cuff tendinitis, in the elbow as lateral epicondylitis also called tennis elbow, in the wrist as de Quervain tendinitis, in the knee as patellar tendinitis, and in the ankle as Achilles tendinitis. It is usually caused by repetitive motions, overuse, or sudden increase in activity intensity.

A fracture is a break or crack in a bone. The main types include closed or simple fracture where the bone breaks without penetrating the skin, open or compound fracture where the bone breaks through the skin creating infection risk, comminuted fracture where the bone shatters into three or more fragments, greenstick fracture where the bone bends and partially breaks common in children, stress fracture which is a small crack from repetitive force, and pathological fracture caused by disease weakening the bone such as osteoporosis or cancer.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease where cartilage breaks down over time, from osteo meaning bone, arthr meaning joint, and itis meaning inflammation. It is the most common form of arthritis, affecting weight-bearing joints like knees and hips, and worsens with age and use. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the synovial membrane lining the joints, from rheumato meaning watery flow and arthr meaning joint. ---