Ankylosis

Ankylosis, or Anchylosis (from Greekαγκυλος, bent, crooked) is a stiffness of a joint, the result of injuryor disease. The rigidity may be complete or partial and may be due to inflammation of the tendinous or muscular structures outside the joint or of the tissues of the joint itself. When the structures outside the joint are affected, the term "false" ankylosis has been used in contradistinction to "true" ankylosis, in which the disease is within the joint. When inflammation has caused the joint-ends of the bones to be fused together the ankylosis is termed osseous or complete. Excision of a completely ankylosed shoulder or elbow may restore free mobility and usefulness to the limb. "Ankylosis" is also used as an anatomical term, bones being said to ankylose (or anchylose) when, from being originally distinct, they coalesce, or become so joined together that no motion can take place between them.

See also

• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Reiter's Syndrome

References

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.de:Ankylose nl:Ankylose

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankylosis Wikipedia article Ankylosis.