glass bone disease

5.2

A rare condition where bones are very weak and break easily

noun
/ɡlæs boʊn dɪˈziːz/

Specialized

: enfermedad de los huesos de cristal

Children with glass bone disease are especially prone to frequent fractures.

Examples

Doctors recommend physical therapy for patients with glass bone disease to strengthen muscles and protect the bones.
Despite having glass bone disease, she has learned to adapt and enjoy daily life.
Children with glass bone disease often require special care.
Is glass bone disease hereditary?
Children with glass bone disease are especially prone to frequent fractures.
Doctors recommend physical therapy for patients with glass bone disease to strengthen muscles and protect the bones.
Despite having glass bone disease, she has learned to adapt and enjoy daily life.

Synonyms

osteoporosis

vsglass bone disease

Specialized

34 6.1

Bones become weak and thin so they break easily

is a rare more extreme fragility causing very frequent fractures and activity limits

Surface Forms

glass bone disease singular

glass bone diseases plural

Morphology

glass + bone + disease

The meaning is directly inferable from the parts: 'glass' evokes brittleness, combined with 'bone' and 'disease' yields a condition in which bones are fragile and break easily. This is a straightforward, largely pictorial metaphor (similar to 'brittle bone disease') and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Glass bone disease compares real bone to glass, a hard but very breakable thing, so you can picture bones that break like glass. That's why the phrase means 'bones are extremely fragile and break easily'.