Skeletal System Terminology and Clinical Conditions

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering anatomical terms used to describe skeletal structures, clinical conditions and surgical procedures of the skeletal system, joint mobility classifications, and medical word roots/affixes.

Condyle

A rounded process that usually articulates with another bone (e.g., occipital condyle of occipital bone).

Crest

A narrow, ridgelike projection on a bone (e.g., iliac crest of ilium).

Epicondyle

A projection situated above a condyle (e.g., medial epicondyle of humerus).

Facet

A small, nearly flat surface on a bone (e.g., rib facet of thoracic vertebra).

Fontanel

A soft spot in the skull where membranes cover the space between bones (e.g., anterior fontanel between frontal and parietal bones).

Foramen

An opening through a bone that usually is a passageway for blood vessels, nerves, or ligaments (e.g., foramen magnum of occipital bone).

Fossa

A relatively deep pit or depression on a bone (e.g., olecranon fossa of humerus).

Fovea

A tiny pit or depression on a bone (e.g., fovea capitis of femur).

Head (skeletal)

An enlargement on the end of a bone (e.g., head of humerus).

Meatus

A tubelike passageway within a bone (e.g., external auditory meatus of ear).

Process (skeletal)

A prominent projection on a bone (e.g., mastoid process of temporal bone).

Sinus (skeletal)

A cavity within a bone (e.g., frontal sinus of frontal bone).

Spine (skeletal)

A thornlike projection on a bone (e.g., spine of scapula).

Suture

An interlocking line of union between bones (e.g., lambdoidal suture between occipital and parietal bones).

Trochanter

A relatively large process on a bone (e.g., greater trochanter of femur).

Tubercle

A small, knoblike process on a bone (e.g., greater tubercle of humerus).

Tuberosity

A knoblike process usually larger than a tubercle (e.g., radial tuberosity of radius).

Sulcus

A furrow or groove on a bone (e.g., intertubercular sulcus of the humerus).

Acromegaly

Abnormal enlargement of facial features, hands, and feet in adults due to overproduction of growth hormone.

Ankylosis

Abnormal stiffness of a joint or fusion of bones at a joint, often due to damage of the joint membranes from chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthralgia

Pain in a joint; joint pain.

Arthrocentesis

Puncture of and removal of fluid from a joint cavity.

Arthrodesis

Surgery to fuse the bones at a joint.

Arthroplasty

Surgery to make a joint more movable.

Colles fracture

Fracture at the distal end of the radius that displaces the smaller fragment posteriorly.

Hemarthrosis

Blood in a joint cavity.

Laminectomy

Surgical removal of the posterior arch of a vertebra, usually to relieve symptoms of a ruptured intervertebral disk.

Lumbago

Dull ache in the lumbar region of the back.

Orthopedics

Medical specialty that prevents, diagnoses, and treats diseases and abnormalities of the skeletal and muscular systems.

Ostealgia

Pain in the bone; bone pain.

Osteitis

Inflammation of bone tissue; bone inflammation.

Osteochondritis

Inflammation of bone and cartilage tissue.

Osteogenesis

Bone development.

Osteogenesis imperfecta

Inherited condition (autosomal recessive) causing deformed and abnormally brittle bones; also known as "brittle bone disease."

Osteoma

Tumor composed of bone tissue; bone tumor/cancer.

Osteomalacia

Softening of adult bone due to a disorder in calcium and phosphorus metabolism, usually caused by vitamin D deficiency.

Osteomyelitis

Bone inflammation caused by the body's reaction to bacterial or fungal infection.

Osteonecrosis

Death of bone tissue (bone death), occurring most often in the femur head in elderly people and possibly due to obstructed arteries supplying the bone.

Osteopathology

Study of bone diseases.

Synovectomy

Surgical removal of the synovial membrane of a joint.

Ligament

A structure connecting bone to bone.

Tendon

A structure connecting muscle to bone.

Fibrous joint

An immovable joint.

Cartilaginous joint

A slightly moving joint.

Synovial joint

A freely moving joint.

acetabul-

Word root associated with the acetabulum.

ax-

Word root associated with the axial skeleton.

-blast

Word root/suffix associated with osteoblast.

-clast

Word root/suffix associated with osteoclast.

condyl-

Word root associated with a condyle.

fov-

Word root associated with fovea capitis.

glen-

Word root associated with the glenoid cavity.

inter-

Word root/prefix associated with intervertebral disc.

intra-

Word root/prefix associated with intramembranous bone.

meat-

Word root associated with external acoustic meatus.

odont-

Word root associated with odontoid process.

poie-

Word root associated with hematopoiesis.

corac-

Word root associated with coracoid process.

cribr-

Word root associated with cribriform plate.

crist-

Word root associated with crista galli.