Muscle & Connective Tissue Diseases

Connective tissue disease, any of the diseases that affect human connective tissue. Diseases of the connective tissue can be divided into (1) a group of relatively uncommon genetic disorders that affect the primary structure of connective tissue and (2) a number of acquired maladies in which the connective tissues are the site of several more or less distinctive immunological and inflammatory reactions. The hereditary (genetic) connective tissue diseases include Marfan syndrome, homocystinuria, and osteogenesis imperfecta. The acquired diseases include, among many others, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatic fever, and osteoarthritis.

Muscle & Connective Tissue Diseases Encyclopedia Articles

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rheumatism

Rheumatism, any of several disorders that have in common inflammation of the connective tissues, especially the muscles, joints, and associated structures. The most common symptoms are pain and stiffness....

tic

Tic, (from the 17th-century French tic or ticq, “a twitching”), sudden rapid, recurring contraction in a muscle or group of muscles, occurring more often in the upper parts of the body. The tic, which...

muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy, any of a group of hereditary conditions that are characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles. There are several types of muscular dystrophy, all of...

iliotibial band syndrome

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), inflammation of the band of fibrous tissue known as the iliotibial band (or tract), which extends from the ilium of the hip to the tibia (shinbone). Typically, iliotibial...

myopathy

Myopathy, any skeletal muscle disorder that directly affects the muscle fibres and does not arise secondarily from disorders of the nervous system. Myopathies are marked by muscular degeneration and weakness...

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