GLOSSARY

Analgesic: Medication or modality used to relieve the pain.

Ankylosing spondylitis: Chronic bone and joint disease in which the inflammatory process
primarily affects the sacroiliac, spinal facet, and costovertebral joints.
Ankylosis: A protein or fixation of a joint.
Antibody: A protein developed in response to an antigen, belonging to one of the
immunoglobulin classes.
Antigen: Any substance that induces the formation of antibodies that will react specifically to
that antigen.
Arthralgia: Pain in a joint.
Arthrodesis: Surgical procedure designed to produce fusion of a joint.
Arthroplasty: Any surgical reconstruction of a joint; may or may not involve prosthetic
replacement.
Avascular necrosis: Necrosis of part of a bone secondary to ischemia; most commonly seen in
the femoral of humeral head.
Bouschards nodes: Osteophyte formation around the proximal bountonniere deformity. Finger
deformity with flexion of the proximal interphalangeal joint and hyperextension of the distal
interphalangeal joint.
Buotonniere deformity: Contracture of hand musculature marked by proximal interphalangeal
joint flexion and distal interphalangeal joint extension.
Bunlon: Hallux valgus with a painful bursitis over the medial aspect of the first
metatarsophalangeal joint.
Bursitis: Inflammation of a bursa that can be due to frictional forces, trauma, or rheumatoid
diseases.
Carpal tunnel syndrome: Compression of the median nerve in the carpal flexor space;
commonly seen in patients with flexor tenosynositis.
Cock-up (claw) toe: Deformity with hyperextension of the metatarsophalangeal joint and flexion
of the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints.
Crepitus: A grating, crunching, or popping sensation (or sound) that occurs during joint or
tendon motion.
Degenerative joint disease (DJD): A name sometimes used for osteoarthritis.
DeQuervains disease: Stenosing tenosynositis of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist
involving the abductor polilicis and the extensor pollicis brevis.
Edema: Perceptible accumulation of excess fluid in the tissues.
Erythema: Redness.

Exostoses: Ossifications of muscular of ligamentous attachments.

Fibrosis: Abnormal formation of fibrous tissue.
Gout: Disease characterized by acute episodes of arthritis with the presence of sodium urate
crystals in the synovial fluid or deposits of urate crystals in or about the joints and other tissues.
Hammer toe: Deformity with hyperextension of the metatarsophalangeal joint, flexion of the
proximal interphalangeal and hyperextension of the distal interphalangeal joints.
Hallux valgus: Valgus deformity at the first metatarsophalangeal joint.
Heberdens nodes: Bony enlargement of the distal interphalangeal joint characteristics of
primary degenerative joint disease.
Immune response: The reaction of the body in the substances that are foreign or interpreted
as foreign. A cell-mediated immune response involves the production of lymphocytes by the
thymus (T cells) in response to an antigen. A humeral immune response involves the production
of plasma lymphocytes (B cells) in response to an antigen and results in the formation of
antibodies.
Lag phenomenon: Difference between active and passive range of motion.
Lyme disease: An epidermic, systemic inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent
episodes of polyarthritis, skin lesions, and involvement of the cardiac and nervous systems
following a thick bite. Named after the Connecticut town where it was first discovered in 1975.
Metatarsal bar: Pad placed inside the shoe proximal to the metatarsal heads to relieve
metatarsal pressure and pain.
Metatarsalgia: Pain over the metatarsal heads on the plantar aspect of the foot.
Morning Stiffness: This term describes the prolonged generalized stiffness that is associated
with inflammatory arthritis upon awakening. The stiffness is indicative of systemic involvement.
The duration of the stiffness correlates with the intensity of the disease. This generalized
stiffness is in contrast to the localized stiffness seen in osteoarthritis which results from
inactivity.
Murtilans-type deformity (Opera-glass Hand): Severe bony destruction and resorption in a
synovial joint to the fingers it results in a telescopic shortening.
Myositis: Inflammatory disease of striated muscle.
Osteoarthritis (OA): The most common rheumatic disease characterized by the progressive
loss of articular cartilage and the formation of bone at the joint margin.
Osteophytes: Bone growths at joint margins.
Osteoporosis: Condition characterized by a loss of bone cells. It can be a primary condition or
associated with other diseases, drug therapies (steroids), or disuse, can be improved or
minimized with exercise.
Osteotomy: Surgical cutting of a bone.

Pannus: excessive proliferation of synovial granulation tissue that invades the joint surfaces.
Polymyalgia rheumatica: Relatively common condition most typically found over the age 50
and in females. Characterized by marked pain of the shoulder and pelvic girdle muscles,
elevated sedimentation rate, and absence of muscle disease.
Protrusio acetabuli: Condition in which the head of thefemur pushes the acetabulum into the
pelvic cavity.
Pseudogout: Similar to gout clinically but a condition in which the synovitis is due to deposits of
pyrophosphate crystals.
Raynauds phenomenon: Intermittent attacks of pallor followed by cyanosis, then redness of
digits, before return to normal.
Rheumatism: General term for acute and chronic conditions characterized by inflammation,
muscle stiffness and soreness, and joint pain.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): A systemic disease characterized by a bilateral, symmetrical
pattern of joint involvement and chronic inflammation of the synovium.
Rheumatoid factor (RF): An immunoglobulin found in the blood of a high percentage of adults
with rheumatoid arthritis. A person may be described as seronegative or positive. A latex fixation
or sheep cell agglutination test is used to determine if the factor is present.
Rocker sole: Shoe sole, curved at the toe to facilitate push off for limited ankle motion.
Sjogrens syndrome: Disease of the lacrimal and parotid glands, resulting in dry eyes and
mouth, frequently occurs with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematous, and systemic
sclerosis.
Splayfoot: Transverse spreading of the forefoot.
Subluxation: Incomplete or partial dislocation.
Swan neck deformity: Finger deformity involving hyperextension
interphalangeal joint and flexion of the distal interphalangeal joint.

of

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Synovectomy: Surgical procedure to remove the synovial lining of joints or tendon sheaths.
Synovium: Tissue lining synovial joints, tendon sheaths, and bursa. In the joint if produces fluid
to lubricate the joint and is the part of the joint that becomes inflamed in inflammatory joint
disease.
Synovitis: Inflammation of the synovium.
Systemic: A condition that affects the body as a whole.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): Systemic inflammatory disease characterized by small
vessel vasculitis and a diverse clinical picture.
Tarsal tunnel syndrome: neuropathy of the distal portion of the tibial nerve at the ankle caused
by chronic pressure on the nerve at the point it passes through the tarsal tunnel.
Tendinitis: Inflammation of a tendon.

Tinnitus: Subjective ringing or buzzing sensations in the ear; used as an indicator of aspirin
toxicity.
Zigzag effect: Ulnar drift at the metacarpophalangeal joints associated with radial deviation of
the wrist.