Musculoskeletal System Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the musculoskeletal system, including spinal deformities, types of inflammation, specific extremity injuries, and clinical assessments for neck and back pain.

Cervical Lordosis

The normal inward curve of the cervical spine, often described as a backward C-shape.

Thoracic Kyphosis

The normal outward curve of the thoracic spine, described as a C-shape.

Scoliosis

An abnormal curving of the spine where it has a sideways curve to the left or right, forming a C or S shape.

Lordosis

An excessive inward curvature of the spine, typically affecting the lower back (lumbar lordosis).

Kyphosis

An excessive forward rounding of the upper spine, which may cause a deformity such as a humpback or hunchback.

Cervical Kyphosis

Sometimes called military neck, a condition where the cervical spine is straight or in a reversed curvature instead of the normal lordotic curve.

Ankylosing spondylitis

An autoimmune disease that causes arthritis and can affect the joints in the spine, most often the sacroiliac joints.

Radiculopathy

Numbness and tingling sensations that radiate to the extremities due to nerve compression.

Dowager’s hump

A term for kyphosis, also known as neck hump, text hump, or hunchback.

Buffalo hump

A symptom of Cushing’s disease characterized by excess fat production due to excess cortisol, not to be confused with kyphosis.

Spondylolisthesis

A condition where a vertebra slips out of place, resting on the bone below it.

Acute Inflammation

A defensive response that starts rapidly and lasts for a few days, characterized by the involvement of neutrophils to speed up healing.

Chronic Inflammation

A slow, long-term inflammation lasting months to years involving the continual activation of white blood cells and chemical messengers that may lead to tissue damage.

5 Cardinal Signs of Inflammation

The key indicators of acute inflammation: Pain (Dolor), Heat (Calor), Redness (Rubor), Swelling (Tumor), and Loss of Function (Functio laesa).

PRICES

The acronym for acute injury management: Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, and Stabilization.

Rotator Cuff

A group of muscles consisting of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis that stabilize the humeral head.

Apley Scratch Test

A diagnostic test where a patient tries to touch the opposite scapula to assess shoulder range of motion.

Glenoid Labrum

A ring of rubbery, fibrocartilaginous material that attaches to the glenoid (socket) to enhance structural stability in the shoulder.

MR Arthrography (MRA)

An invasive, contrast-enhanced MRI that is more accurate at detecting labrum tears, ligaments, and cartilage abnormalities than a standard MRI.

Stingers or Burners

Minor cases of brachial plexus injury characterized by a feeling of electric shock or burning radiating down the arm.

Adhesive Capsulitis

Also known as Frozen Shoulder, a condition where the shoulder capsule thickens, becomes stiff, and develops adhesions.

Medial Epicondylitis

Known as "Golfer’s Elbow," this is inflammation of the flexor pronator muscles originating at the medial epicondyle caused by repetitive motion.

Lateral Epicondylitis

Known as "Tennis Elbow," this involves inflammation and microtearing of fibers in the extensor tendons of the forearm.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A condition where the median nerve is compressed as it travels through the wrist, causing numbness and tingling in the hand.

Tinel’s sign

A diagnostic finding where tapping over the median nerve elicits symptoms, used to identify Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Dupuytren’s contracture

A progressive contracture of the palmar fascial bands leading to flexion deformities of the fingers.

Trigger Finger

A condition causing inflammation and thickening of the A1 pulley, resulting in a locking or catching sensation when the finger is bent and straightened.

McMurray Test

A physical exam maneuver involving bending, straightening, and rotation of the knee to elicit pain or clicking indicative of a meniscus tear.

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

A treatment using a concentration of a patient’s own platelets (containing growth factors) injected into an injury site to speed up healing.

Patellar Tendonitis

Known as "Jumper’s Knee," an over-use injury causing inflammation and degeneration of the patellar tendon, common in athletes who perform repetitive jumping.

Chondromalacia Patella

Known as "Runner’s knee," the softening and degeneration of the cartilage of the patella that articulates with the trochlear groove of the femur.

Shin Splints

Also called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, this involves diffuse pain in the tibia exacerbated by repetitive running activities.

Achilles Tendinitis

An overuse injury of the band of tissue that connects calf muscles to the heel bone.

Straight Leg Raise (SLR) Test

A physical exam test used to help confirm lumbar radiculopathy, such as sciatica or disc herniation.

Sciatica

Pain along the sciatic nerve, often radiating from the buttocks down the leg, typically secondary to lumbar nerve root compression.

Nucleus pulposus (NP)

The elastic, soft, jelly-like substance inside a vertebral disc that allows it to absorb compression.

Annulus fibrosus (AF)

The tough outer layer of a vertebral disc.

Osteophytes

Also known as bone spurs, these are new bony growths created as the body tries to repair cartilage during degeneration.

Babinski Reflex

A reflex that is normal in infants but indicates a Central Nervous System disorder in adults if the great toe extends with fanning of the other digits.

Cauda Equina Syndrome

A medical emergency caused by the compression of the bundle of nerve roots at the lower end of the spinal cord (L1-L5).