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Glite Dictionary
pericapsular

pericapsular

9.9
Around the small covering of a joint in the body
  • adjective
  • Specialized
: pericapsular
  • The pericapsular area around the joint is important for maintaining stability during movement.

Examples

  • The surgeon examined the pericapsular tissues to ensure there was no inflammation around the implant.

  • Formalin-fixed cadaveric bones, which retained their capsular and pericapsular ligaments (and thus their articulations), were encased in a tire cord reinforced rubber shell (Figure 1).

    Academic text (1991)

  • In biology classes, students learned that pericapsular cells play a crucial role in protecting the developing embryo.

Surface Forms

pericapsular positive

Morphology

pericapsular = capsular (semi-transparent) = peri + capsule + ar

Formed by the medical combining form 'peri-' meaning 'around' plus the adjective 'capsular'; the relation to 'capsular' is clear but 'peri-' is a specialised combining form that many B1 learners may not know.

Etymology

The word pericapsular breaks into peri- 'around', capsule 'small box', and the ending -ular 'related to'. So pericapsular simply means 'around a capsule', and in medicine it describes tissue or swelling that is around a joint or other capsule in the body.