CHAPTER 7 • ORTHOPEDIC SPORTS MEDICINE TERMINOLOGY 31
- Apophysis:Secondary growth center forming bony
outgrowth that remains a part of the native bone, e.g.,
process, tubercle, and tuberosity.
- Aphophysitis:Inflammation of an apophysis
- Arthritis:Joint inflammation
- Arthrosis:Joint degeneration
- Atrophy:Muscle wasting, loss of muscle mass
- Autograft:Graft from one’s own body
- Avascular necrosis, aseptic necrosis, osteonecrosis
(AVN):Blood supply to the affected bone is insuffi-
cient, resulting in bony necrosis, etiologies include
idiopathic, traumatic, steroids, heavy alcohol usage,
dysbaric illness (Caisson disease), blood dyscrasias
(e.g., sickle cell disease), high doses of radiation ther-
apy, and Gaucher’s disease. Untreated, the natural dis-
ease progression is to DJD.
- Avulsion fracture:Injury to tendinous insertion site
where a small piece of bone is fractured in continuity
with the tendon, rather than rupture at the tendon-
bone interface.
- Bone bruise: Microfractures seen on MRI. This is
common with ACL injuries where the lesions are
located on the lateral femoral condyle and the posterior
portion of the lateral tibial plateau.
- Bursitis:Inflammation of a bursa
- Chondromalacia:Softening or damage to the articu-
lar cartilage of the patella—diagnosis made under
direct visualization at the time of surgery. This term is
often used to describe similar lesions in other bones.
- Chondrosis:Chondral degeneration
- Diaphysis:Midshaft, tubular portion of long bone
- Dislocation:Complete loss of apposition of articulat-
ing bones that normally comprise a joint.
- Effusion:Fluid within a joint
- Epiphysis: Center of ossification, longitudinal
growth center
- Extension lag:Lack of normal active extension of a
joint with normal passive extension, usually measured
in degrees
- Flexion contracture:Lack of normal active and pas-
sive extension of a joint usually measured in degrees
- Incidence:The number of new cases of a disease or
injury and the like that occur during a specified period
of time in a defined population.
- Instability:Functional term referring to joint laxity—
may be unidirectional or multidirectional, with the eti-
ology being post-traumatic or congenital.
- Laxity:Degree of looseness, usually referring to a
ligament. Symptomatic laxity is termed instability.
- Long bone:Length >width, found in limbs
- Mechanical axis (of lower extremity):Angle formed
by intersection of lines drawn from center of femoral
head to center of knee joint, and center of knee joint
to center of ankle with patient standing
- Metaphysis:Area adjacent to physis, consists of can-
cellous bone.
- Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD):A fragment of
subchondral bone and its overlying chondral cartilage
are separated from the underlying bone. The etiology
is unclear, but most likely traumatic. Most often it
occurs in the knee and the most common location is
the lateral aspect of the medial femoral condyle.
- Osteotomy:Transection of a bone, often refers to the
tibia or femur to correct for varus or valgus deformities.
The surgeon alters the mechanical axis of the limb in
an attempt to alleviate malalignment, arthrosis, and
pain.
- Passive motion:ROM of a joint performed by the
examiner
- Physis:Growth plate
- Prevalence:The number of cases of a disease or
injury and the like present in a defined population
during a particular point in time
- Proprioception:Reflex mechanism whereby position
sense receptors are able to detect the position of a
joint in space and therefore provide a coordinated
muscular response to aid in stabilization of a joint.
This important skill is often ignored or underrehabili-
tated following injury.
- Recurvatum:Hyperextension of a joint
- Sesamoid bone:Bones located within tendons
- Short bone:More cuboidal in shape, found in carpus
and tarsals
- Sprain:Injury to a ligament owing to excessive stress
- Strain:Injury to a muscle or tendon owing to exces-
sive stress
- Stress views: Radiographs used to assess ligamentous
integrity by stressing the involved ligaments and
assessing for increased laxity, often comparing to the
normal contralateral side
- Subluxation:Partial dislocation of a joint
- Tendonitis (tendinitis): Inflammation of a tendon
- Tendonopathy (tendinopathy): Diseased tendon
- Tendonosis (tendinosis): Tendon degeneration (usu-
ally focal)
- Tenosynovitis:Tendon sheath inflammation
- Tensile strength:Maximum stress that a structure
can sustain before failure
TERMINOLOGY REFERRING
TO FRACTURES
- Alignment:Relationship of the longitudinal axis of
one fracture fragment to another
- Angulation:Position of distal fracture fragment in
relation to the proximal fragment or direction of the
apex of the angle formed by the fracture fragments
