- Periostitis
- Inflammation of the periosteum, a dense membrane composed of fibrous connective tissue that closely wraps (invests) all bone, except the bone of articulating surfaces in joints which are covered by synovial membranes. The word "periotitis" may seem like Greek to you. "Peri-" is a prefix borrowed from the Greek meaning "around or about", "- osteal" comes from the Greek "osteon" meaning "bone", and the Greek suffix "itis" meant "disease" and now, more narrowly, means "inflammation." So periostitis literally is inflammation around the bone.
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peri·os·ti·tis -.äs-'tīt-əs n inflammation of the periosteum* * *
n.inflammation of the membrane surrounding a bone (see periosteum). Acute periostitis results from direct injury to the bone and is associated with a haematoma, which may later become infected. The uncomplicated condition subsides quickly with rest and anti-inflammatory analgesics. Chronic periostitis sometimes follows but is more often due to an inflammatory disease, such as tuberculosis or syphilis, or to a chronic ulcer overlying the bone involved. Chronic periostitis causes thickening of the underlying bone, which is evident on X-ray.* * *
peri·os·ti·tis (per″e-os-tiґtis) inflammation of the periosteum. The condition is generally chronic, and is marked by tenderness and swelling of the bone and an aching pain. Acute periostitis is due to infection, is characterized by diffuse suppuration, severe pain, and constitutional symptoms, and usually results in necrosis.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
