Skip to main content
osteomyelitis

osteomyelitis

1 9.9
An infection of a bone and its inside that makes it painful and swollen
  • noun
  • /ˌɑːstioʊˌmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : osteomielitis
  • The mainstay of treatment for osteomyelitis is long-term IV antibiotics.
  • vertebral osteomyelitis
  • chronic osteomyelitis
  • skull base osteomyelitis

Examples

  • Delayed diagnosis and treatment of osteomyelitis may lead to more severe complications.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Finally, a physician agreed to do an MRI, and spinal osteomyelitis was discovered.

    Academic text (2005)
  • There may be additional risk of staph osteomyelitis.

  • Approximately 16 years prior to presentation, she had been diagnosed with osteomyelitis of the mandible.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Since then, she has experienced multiple bouts of osteomyelitis that were treated with intravenous antibiotics.

    Academic text (2010)
  • The diagnosis of vertebral osteomyelitis is nearly always dependent on radiologic study.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The diagnoses of both Paget disease and osteomyelitis had been confirmed by previous cultures and biopsies.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Ulcerations of the heel also frequently lead to infection and osteomyelitis of the calcaneus (12, 13).

    Academic text (2001)
  • MRI has a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 92% in diagnosing vertebral osteomyelitis.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The doctor diagnosed her with osteomyelitis after she complained of severe bone pain.

Synonyms

osteitis
vsosteomyelitis
  • Specialized
9.9

Pain and swelling in a bone caused by infection or injury

includes the bone marrow as well, not just the bone tissue

Surface Forms

osteomyelitis singular

Morphology

osteomyelitis = myelitis (opaque) = osteo + myel + itis

The term is specialized medical jargon, not easily deduced by average learners.

Etymology

Osteomyelitis breaks into oste- 'bone', myel- 'marrow', and -itis 'inflammation' (the same ending you see in tonsillitis), so it means an inflammation of the bone and its marrow, usually from infection.