| Term | Definition |
| ankyl/o | crooked or stiff |
| arthr/o, articul/o | joint (articulation) |
| brachi/o | arm |
| cervic/o | neck |
| chondr/o | cartilage (gristle) |
| cost/o | rib |
| crani/o | skull |
| dactyl/o | digit (finger or toe) |
| fasci/o | fascia (a band) |
| femor/o | femur |
| fibr/o | fiber |
| kyph/o | humpback |
| lei/o | smooth |
| lord/o | bent |
| lumb/o | loin (lower back) |
| myel/o | bone marrow or spinal cord |
| my/o, myos/o, muscul/o | muscle |
| oste/o | bone |
| patell/o | knee cap |
| pelv/i, pelv/o | hip bone or pelvic cavity |
| radi/o | radius |
| rhabd/o | rod shaped or striated (skeletal) |
| sarc/o | flesh |
| scoli/o | twisted |
| spondyl/o, vertebr/o | vertebra |
| stern/o | sternum |
| ten/o, tend/o, tendin/o | tendon (to stretch) |
| thorac/o | chest |
| ton/o | tone or tension |
| uln/o | ulna |
| appendicular skeleton | bones of shoulder, pelvic, and upper and lower extremities |
| axial skeleton | bones of skull, vertebral column, chest, and hyoid bone (U-shaped bone lying at the base of the tongue) |
| bone | specialized connective tissue composed of osteocytes (bone cells) forming the skeleton |
| compact bone | tightly solid, strong bone tissue resistant to bending |
| spongy (cancellous) bone | mesh-like bone tissue containing marrow and fine branching canals through which blood vessels run |
| long bones | bones of arms and legs |
| short bones | bones of wrists and ankles |
| flat bones | bones of ribs, shoulder blades, pelvis, and skull |
| irregular bones | bones of vertebrae and face |
| sesamoid bones | round bones found near joints (e.g., patella) |
| epiphysis | wide ends of a long bone (physis = growth) |
| diaphysis | shaft of a long bone |
| metaphysis | growth zone b/t epiphysis and diaphysis during development of a long bone |
| endosteum | membrane lining the medullary cavity of a bone |
| medullary cavity | cavity within the shaft of the long bones filled with bone marrow |
| bone marrow | soft connective tissue within the medullary cavities of bones |
| red bone marrow | found in cavities of most bones in infants; functions in formation of red blood cells, some white blood cells, and platelets; in adults, red bone marrow is found most often in the flat bones |
| yellow bone marrow | gradually replaces red bone marrow in adult bones, functions as storage for fat tissue, and is inactive in formation of blood cells |
| periosteum | a fibrous, vascular membrane that covers the bone |
| articular cartilage | a gristle-like substance found on bones where they articulate |
| articulation | a joint; the point where two bones come together |
| bursa | a fibrous sac b/t certain tendons and bones that is lined with synovial membrane that secretes synovial fluid |
| disk (disc) | a flat, plate-like structure composed of fibrocartilaginous tissue found b/t the vertebrae to reduce friction |
| nucleus pulposus | the soft, fibrocartilaginous, central portion of the intervertebral disk |
| ligament | a flexible band of fibrous tissue that connects bone to bone |
| synovial membrane | membrane lining the capsule of a joint |
| synovial fluid | lubricating fluid secreted by the synovial membrane |
| insertion of a muscle | muscle end attached to the bone that moves when the muscle contracts |
| tendon | a band of fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone |
| fascia | a band or sheet of fibrous connective tissue that covers, supports, and separates muscle |
| coronal (frontal) plane | vertical division of the body into front (anterior) and back (anterior) portions |
| sagittal plane | vertical division of the body into right and left portions |
| transverse plane | horizontal division of the body into upper and lower portions |
| anterior (A) (ventral) | front of the body |
| posterior (P) (dorsal) | back of the body |
| anterior-posterior (AP) | from front to back; commonly associated with the direction of an x-ray beam |
| posterior-anterior (PA) | from back to front; commonly associated with the direction of an x-ray beam |
| superior (cephalic) | situated above another structure, toward the head |
| inferior (caudal) | situated below another structure, away from the head |
| proximal | toward the beginning or origin of a structure [e.g., the proximal aspect of the femur (thigh bone) is the area closest to where it attaches to the hip] |
| distal | away from the beginning or origin of a structure [e.g., the distal aspect of the femur (thigh bone) is the area at the end of the bone near the knee] |
| medial | toward the middle (midline) |
| lateral | toward the side |
| axis | line that runs through the center of the body or a body part |
| erect | normal standing position |
| decubitus | lying down, especially in bed; i.e, lateral decubitus is lying on the side (decumbo = to lie down) |
| prone | lying face down and flat |
| recumbent | lying down |
| supine | horizontal recumbent; lying flat on the back -- "on the spine" |
| flexion | bending at the joint so that the angle b/t the bones is decreased |
| extension | straightening at the joint so that the angle b/t the bones is increased |
| abduction | movement away from the body |
| adduction | movement toward the body |
| rotation | circular movement around an axis |
| eversion | turning outward, i.e., of a foot |
| inversion | turning inward, i.e., of a foot |
| supination | turning upward or forward of the palmar surface (palm of the hand) or plantar surface (sole of the foot) |
| pronation | turning downward or backward of the palmar surface (palm of the hand) or plantar surface (sole of the foot) |
| dorsiflexion | bending of the foot or the toes upward |
| plantar flexion | bending of the sole of the foot by curling the toes toward the ground |
| range of motion (ROM) | total motion possible in a joint, described by the terms related to body movements, i.e., ability to flex, extend, abduct, or adduct; measured in degrees |
| goniometer | instrument used to measure joint angles (gonio = angle) |
| arthralgia | joint pain |
| atrophy | shrinking of tissue such as muscle |
| crepitation, crepitus | grating sound made by movement of some joints or broken bones |
| exostosis | a projection arising from a bone that develops from cartilage |
| flaccid | flabby, relaxed, or having defective or absent muscle tone |
| hypertrophy | increase in the size of tissue such as muscle |
| hypotonia | reduced muscle tone or tension |
| myalgia, myodynia | muscle pain |
| ostealgia, osteodynia | bone pain |
| rigor or rigidity | stiffness; stiff muscle |
| spasm | drawing in; involuntary contraction of muscle |
| spastic | uncontrolled contractions of skeletal muscles causing stiff and awkward movements (resembles spasm) |
| tetany | tension; prolonged, continuous muscle contraction |
| tremor | shaking; rhythmic muscular movement |
| ankylosis | stiff joint condition |
| arthritis | inflammation of the joints characterized by pain, swelling, redness, warmth, and limitation of motion -- there are more than 100 different types of arthritis |
| osteoarthritis (OA), degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease (DJD) | most common form of arthritis that especially affects weight-bearing joints (e.g., knee, hip); characterized by the erosion of articular cartilage |
| rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | most crippling form of arthritis characterized by a chronic, systemic inflammation most often affecting joints and synovial membranes (especially in the hands and feet) causing ankylosis (stiff joints) and deformity |
| gouty arthritis | acute attacks of arthritis usually in a single joint (especially the great toe) caused by hyperuricemia (an excessive level of uric acid in the blood) |
| biny necrosis, sequestrum | dead bone tissue from loss of blood supply such as can occur after a fracture (sequestrum = something laid aside) |
| bunion | swelling of the joint at the base of the great toe caused by inflammation of the bursa |
| bursitis | inflammation of a bursa |
| carpal tunnel syndrome | condition that results from compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel at the wrist, characterized by pain, numbness, and tingling in the wrist and fingers and weak grip; commonly seen as a result of cumulative trauma of surrounding tendons |
| chondromalacia | softening of cartilage |
| epiphysitis | inflammation of epiphyseal regions of the long bone |
| fracture | a broken or cracked bone |
| closed fracture | a broken bone with no open wound |
| open | compound fracture; a broken bone with an open wound |
| simple fracture | a nondisplaced fracture involving one fracture line that does not require extensive treatment to repair (e.g., hairline Fx, stress Fx, or crack) |
| complex fracture | a displaced fracture that require manipulation or surgery to repair |
| fracture line | line made by broken bone (e.g., oblique, spiral, or transverse) |
| comminuted fracture | broken in many little pieces |
| greenstick fracture | bending and incomplete break of a bone -- most often seen in children |
| herniated disk or disc | protrusion of a degenerated or framented intervertebral disk so that the nucleus pulposus protrudes, causing compression on the nerve root |
| myeloma | bone marrow tumor |
| myositis | inflammation of muscle |
| myoma | muscle tumor |
| leiomyoma | smooth muscle tumor |
| leiomyosarcoma | malignant smooth muscle tumor |
| rhabdomyoma | skeletal muscle tumor |
| rhabdomyosarcoma | malignant skeletal muscle tumor |
| muscular dystrophy | a category of genetically transmitted diseases characterized by progressive atrophy of skeletal muscles (Duchenne's type is most common) |
| osteoma | bone tumor |
| osteosarcoma | type of malignant bone tumor |
| osteomalacia | disease marked by softening of the bone caused by calcium and vitamin D deficiency |
| rickets | osteomalacia in children (causes bone deformity) |
| osteomyelitis | infection of bone marrow cuasing inflammation |
| osteoporosis | condition of decreased bone density and increased porosity, causing bones to became brittle and liable to fracture (porsis = passage) |
| kyphosis | abnormal posterior curvature of the thoracic spine (humpback condition) |
| lordosis | abnormal anterior curvature of the lumbar spine (sway-back condition) |
| scoliosis | abnormal lateral curvature of the spine (S-shaped curve) |
| spondylolisthesis | forward slipping of a lumbar vertebra (listhesis = slipping) |
| spondylosis | stiff, immobile condition od=f the vertebrae due to joint degeneration |
| sprain | injury to a ligament caused by joint trauma but without joint dislocation or fracture |
| subluxation | a partial dislocation (luxation = dislocation) |
| tendinitis, tendonitis | inflammation of a tendon |
| electromyogram (EMG) | a neurodiagnostic graphic record of the electrocal activity of muscle at rest and during contraction to diagnose neuromusculoskeletal disorders(e.g., muscular dystrophy); usually performed by a neurologist |
| magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | a nonionizing imaging technique using magnetic feilds and radiofrequency waves |