Muscle Medial Terms:
Atrophy: The partial or complete wasting away of a muscle. Causes of atrophy include
poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to
muscle disuse or lack of exercise.
Hypertrophy: An increase in mass or girth, of a muscle can be induced by a number of
stimuli. The most familiar of these is exercise
Rigor Mortis: (Latin "mors, mortis") is caused by a chemical change in the muscles
after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff (Latin "rigor") and difficult to
move or manipulate. Assuming mild temperatures, rigor usually sets in about 3-4 hours
after clinical death, with full rigor being in effect at about 12 hours, and eventually
subsiding to relaxation at about 36 hours. Times for the onset of rigor mortis can vary
from a few minutes to several hours depending on the temperature of the environment in
which the body is found.
The biochemical cause of rigor mortis is hydrolysis of ATP in the muscle tissue, the
chemical energy source required for movement. Myosin molecules devoid of ATP
become permanently adherent to actin filaments to form complex, causing muscles to
become rigid. After the pH of the muscle has become 5.5, release of autolytic enzymes
stored in lysosomes will take place. These enzymes act at the myofibrillar proteins and
hydrolyse them. As a result, the actomyosin complex is broken down and muscles
become "soft" again.
Hypotonia: Decrease or lost of muscle tone. Such muslce are said to be flaccid.
Flaccid paralysis: Loss of muscle tone, loss or reduction of tendon, and muscle atrophy
due to nerve disorders or damage.
Hypertonia: Increase in muscle tone that results in Spasticity orRigidity.
Spasticity: Abnormal muscular hyperactivity with increase in muscle tone (rigidity), and
sustained muscle contractions (spasm), usually caused by damage to the central nervous
system.
Rigidity: Increased muscle tone without reflex hyperactivity.
Spasticity paralysis: Partial paralysis in which the muscle exhibit spasticity.
Myalgia: Muscle pain (Greek "myos" meaning muscle and "-algia" from the Greek
"algos" meaning pain).
Myoma: Tumor staring in muscle tissue (Greek, oma meaning tumor))
Myomalacia: softening of a muscle.
Myositis Inflammation of a muscle (Greek it is means inflammation)
Myotonia: Increased muscular excitability and contraction with decreased power of
relaxation.
Volkmann’s contracture: Permanent shortening of a muscle due to replacement of
destroyed muscle fibers by connective tissue.
Muscular Dystrophy: Inherited muscle-destroying disease characterized by
degeneration of muscle fibers, leading to progressive atrophy. Duchenne Muscular
Dystrophy, is sex-linked (X) disease that strikes boys almost exclusively, usually
between the ages of 3 and 5.
Myasthenia gravis: (myo = muscle, asthenia = weakness, gravis = grave or serious)
An autoimmune disorder caused by antibody attack against Ach receptors in the
neuromuscular junction. As the diease progresses, more and more Ach receptors are
destroyed causing increasingly weak muscle that may cease to function. It occurs most
often in females between the ages of 20 to 50.
Polio: A viral disease that can damage the nervous system and cause paralysis. The polio
virus enters the body through the mouth, usually from hands contaminated with the stool
of an infected person.
Fibromyalgia syndrome: A very common condition of widespread muscular pain and
fatigue.. It affects women much more than men in an approximate ratio of 9:1. It is seen
in all age groups from young children through old age, although in most patients the
problem begins during their 20s or 30s
Spasm: Sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle.
Cramp: Painful spasmodic contraction of a muscle, usually resulting in complete tetany.
Tremor: Rhythmic, involuntary, purposeless contraction of opposing muscle groups
Fasciculation: An involuntary brief twitch of a muscle visible under the skin.
Fibrillation: An involuntary brief twitch of a muscle not visible under the skin, as of the
heart.
Carpal tunnel syndrome: painful progressive condition caused by compression of the
median nerve in the wrist.. Symptoms usually start gradually, with pain, weakness, or
numbness in the hand and wrist, radiating up the arm.
Compartment syndrome: A condition in which increased pressure within a muscle
compartment causes a decrease in blood supply to the affected muscles. The so-called
compartments are groups of muscles surrounded by inelastic fascia and thus any swelling
of muscles leaves no room for expansion and blood supply is progressively cut-off.
Diaphragmatic hernia: A defect or hole in the diaphragm that allows the abdominal
contents to move into the chest cavity. Treatment is usually surgical
Inguinal hernias: protrusions of abdominal cavity contents through a weakened
abdominal muscle of the inguinal area.
Fibrosis: The formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ
or tissue
ischemia (Greek isch- is restriction, hema or haema is blood) A restriction in blood
supply to tissue such as cardiac muscle.
Impingement syndrome: Ocurrs when the rotator cuff tendons (supraspinatus,
infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis) become trapped in the shoulder joint.
Repeated impingement can lead to inflammation and thickening, which in turn will result
in more impingement and trapping of the inflamed tendons.
Plantar fasciitis: which may cause the heel to hurt, feel hot or swell, is an inflammation
of the plantar fascia, a thin layer of tough tissue supporting the arch of the foot.
Shin splints: Represent one member of a group of injuries called "overuse injuries."
Shin splints occur most commonly in runners or aggressive walkers. Shin splints cause pain
in the front of the outer leg below the knee. The pain of shin splints is characteristically located
on the outer edge of the mid region of the leg next to the shin bone (tibia).