Bone, Joint and Muscle Terms

Less a transplant than an infusion, and with a donor graft the immune attack the new cells mount is part of the point.

A measure of the amount of minerals (mostly calcium and phosphorous) contained in a certain volume of bone.

Cancer that has settled in bone, where it keeps the name of the organ it started in rather than the bone it now occupies.

An imaging test that measures bone density (the amount of bone mineral contained in a certain volume of bone) by passing x-rays with two different energy levels through the bone.

An imaging test that maps repair activity across the whole skeleton in one pass, often long before an x-ray shows anything.

A radioactive substance that is given through a vein, and collects in bone cells and in tumor cells that have spread to the bone.

A silicone gel-filled or saline-filled sac placed under the chest muscle to restore breast shape.

The long flat bone that forms the center front of the chest wall.

A rare, fast-growing type of leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many white blood cells called B lymphocytes form in the blood and bone marrow.

A substance that has been studied in the treatment of cancer and is being studied in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and certain skin conditions.

Cachexia is progressive muscle and fat wasting driven by an underlying chronic illness rather than by reduced food intake alone.

A condition in which abnormal amounts of calcium salts are found in soft tissue, such as muscle.

Bone acts as the bank: when blood levels dip, hormones withdraw calcium from the skeleton rather than let the level drift.

Capsule describes both the fibrous tissue enclosing an organ, joint, or tumor and the swallowable gelatin shelled form of many oral medications.

Carnitine is a naturally occurring compound that shuttles fatty acids into cells' mitochondria so they can be converted into usable energy.

No blood supply and no nerves: cartilage neither heals well nor hurts directly, so joint pain comes from the structures around it.

A protein found on the surface of some bone marrow and blood cells.

Redness appearing on both legs at once is rarely cellulitis, since the infection almost always settles on one side only.

One half of the cerebrum, the part of the brain that controls muscle functions and also controls speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing, and learning.

The muscles, bones, and joints that make up the area of the body between the neck and the abdomen.