osteomalacia
/ˌɒstɪəʊməˈleɪʃɪə
/noun [mass noun] Medicine
Softening of the bones, typically through a deficiency of vitamin D or calcium.Osteoarthritis, osteomalacia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and other arthritic conditions may increase the risk of problems originating from surgical positioning....
- If blood levels of calcium fall then calcium is withdrawn from bone, resulting in osteomalacia and osteoporosis.
- Vitamin D deficiency can lead to bone disease: osteomalacia in adults, rickets in infants and children.
Derivatives
osteomalacic
- A study on osteomalacic myopathy in women found that muscle strength returned to normal (except in maximal voluntary contraction) after six months' treatment.
- Frank rickets or osteomalacic myopathy are only occasionally seen, usually in those already predisposed to metabolic bone disease.
Origin
Early 19th century: modern Latin, from osteo- 'bone' + Greek malakos 'soft'.