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osteitis deformans

osteitis deformans

9.9
A long-lasting bone disease in older people that makes bones break down and grow back wrongly, causing pain
  • noun
  • /ˌɑːstɪˈaɪtɪs dɪˈfɔːrmənz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : osteítis deformante
  • Paget disease of bone (osteitis deformans) is the second most common bone disease (osteoporosis is the most common).

Examples

  • People diagnosed with osteitis deformans may experience frequent fractures due to weakened bones.

  • As osteitis deformans progresses, it can severely impact a person’s mobility and overall health.

  • Osteitis deformans often leads to significant changes in bone structure, causing pain and deformities related to osteitis deformans.

Synonyms

Paget's disease
vsosteitis deformans
  • Specialized
6.3

A long-term bone condition where bone breaks down and grows back wrong, causing pain and deformed bones

uses a descriptive pathology name instead of an eponym

Antonyms

1.0

The condition of a person's body and mind, especially being free from illness or injury

Surface Forms

Morphology

osteitis + deformans

The compound is formed from recognizable medical elements: 'osteitis' (bone inflammation) plus 'deformans' (a Latin present participle signalling 'deforming' or 'causing deformity'), so the overall sense 'bone inflammation causing deformity' is compositionally related to its parts. However, 'deformans' is not an English word and relies on Latin/medical morphology that a B1 learner is unlikely to know, so the meaning is only partly predictable without specialist knowledge.

Etymology

Osteitis deformans comes from old Greek and Latin words: oste- means 'bone', -itis means 'inflammation', and deformans means 'making a deformity'. So the name gives the image of bones that are being changed or misshapen, which is why it refers to a disease that makes bones thick, weak, or deformed.