Medical Terminology: The Musculoskeletal System

Vocabulary flashcards covering common disorders, fracture types, and structural muscle tissues of the musculoskeletal system.

Greenstick fracture

A fracture where the bone bends and cracks instead of breaking into pieces.

Comminuted fracture

A fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed into small pieces.

Spiral fracture

A fracture where at least one part of the bone has been twisted.

Oblique fracture

A fracture where the break occurs at an angle across the bone.

Transverse fracture

A fracture where the break occurs straight across the bone.

Colles' fracture

A break of the radius bone close to the wrist that results from a fall onto an outstretched hand.

Hairline fracture

A fracture in which the bone is broken in a thin crack; this type is hard to detect on routine x-rays.

Pathological fracture

A fracture that occurs in an area of bone weakened by disease, such as osteoporosis, certain cancers, infection, or inherited bone disorders.

Stress fracture

A small crack in a bone caused by overuse and repetitive activity, common among athletes.

Closed fracture

A fracture in which the broken bone does not break through the skin.

Open fracture

A fracture in which the ends of the broken bone tear through the skin, placing the patient at a higher risk of infection.

Bone

The second hardest tissue in the human body (dental enamel is stronger), capable of withstanding fairly strong impacts or stress.

Muscle

A band of fibrous tissue that contracts in response to nerve impulses to trigger movement and relaxes back to its natural state when the impulse is removed.

Skeletal muscle

Voluntary muscles attached to bones that facilitate movement; characterized by a striped appearance under a microscope and also known as striated muscles.

Striated

Striped; refers to the alternating dark and light bands visible under a microscope in skeletal muscle fibers.

Smooth muscle

Involuntary, non-striated muscles that form the walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, and internal muscles of the eye.

Myocardial muscle

Involuntary muscle, also known as cardiac muscle, that forms the wall of the heart and produces forceful contractions.

Avascular necrosis

Death of bone tissue due to insufficient blood flow (from 'a-' meaning without, 'vascularis' meaning blood vessels, and 'necrosis' meaning tissue death).

Osteitis

Inflammation of a bone (from 'oste/o' meaning bone and '-itis' meaning inflammation).

Radiculopathy

Disease or compression of a spinal nerve root (from 'radicul/o' meaning nerve root and '-pathy' meaning disease).

Spinal stenosis

Narrowing of the spaces within the spine, which can put pressure on the nerves traveling through the spinal column.

Multiple myeloma

A cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell located in the bone marrow.

Osteochondroma

A benign overgrowth or tumor composed of bone and cartilage that typically develops during childhood or adolescence.

Osteopenia

A condition occurring when the body does not make new bone as quickly as it reabsorbs old bone, leading to lower than normal bone mineral density.

Osteoporosis

A skeletal disorder characterized by weakened, thin, and brittle bones, significantly increasing the likelihood of fractures.