Benign: Not cancer. Not malignant. A benign tumor does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor may grow but it stays put (in the same place). See the entire definition of Benign
Cartilage: Firm, rubbery tissue that cushions bones at joints. A more flexible kind of cartilage connects muscles with bones and makes up other parts of the body, such as the larynx and the outside parts of the ears.
Collagen: Collagen is the principal protein of the skin, tendons, cartilage, bone and connective tissue.
Down syndrome: A common chromosome disorder due to an extra chromosome number 21 (trisomy 21). Down syndrome causes mental retardation, a characteristic face, and multiple malformations. Down syndrome is a relatively common birth defect. The chromosome abnormality affects both the physical and intellectual development of the individual. See the entire definition of Down syndrome
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: A heritable disorder of connective tissue with easy bruising, joint hypermobility (loose joints), skin laxity, and weakness of tissues. There are a number of different types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) which share the foregoing features but can be categorized into at least nine different types: See the entire definition of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Elbow: The juncture of the long bones in the middle portion of the arm. The bone of the upper arm (humerus) meets both the ulna (the inner bone of the forearm) and radius (the outer bone of the forearm) to form a hinge joint at the elbow. The radius and ulna also meet one another in the elbow to permit a small amount of rotation of the forearm. The elbow therefore functions to move the arm like a hinge (forward and backward) and in rotation (outward and inward). The biceps muscle is the major muscle that flexes the elbow hinge, and the triceps muscle is the major muscle that extends it. The primary stability of the elbow is provided by the ulnar collateral ligament, located on the medial (inner) side of the elbow. The outer bony prominence of the elbow is the lateral epicondyle, a part of the humerus bone. Tendons attached to this area can be injured, causing inflammation or tendonitis (lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow). The inner portion of the elbow is a bony prominence called the medial epicondyle of the humerus. Additional tendons from muscles attach here and can be injured, likewise causing inflammation or tendonitis (medial epicondylitis, or golfer's elbow). See also: Elbow bursitis; Elbow pain; Nursemaid's elbow.
Familial: A condition that is tends to occur more often in family members than expected by chance alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as cystic fibrosis) or environmental (such as tuberculosis).
Forearm: The portion of the upper limb from the elbow to the wrist. See the entire definition of Forearm
Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) needed to contribute to a function. See the entire definition of Genes
Hypermobility syndrome: A common benign childhood condition involving hypermobile joints (that can move beyond the normal range of motion). Symptoms include pains in knees, fingers, hips, and elbows. The affected joints may sprain or dislocate. Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) is more frequent. Usually improves with adulthood. Also called the joint hypermobility syndrome.
Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease, appears in a particular population or area. In disease epidemiology, the incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases during a specific time period. The incidence is distinct from the prevalence which refers to the number of cases alive on a certain date.
Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response. See the entire definition of Inflammation
Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.
Joint: A joint is the area where two bones are attached for the purpose of motion of body parts. A joint is usually formed of fibrous connective tissue and cartilage. An articulation or an arthrosis is the same as a joint. See the entire definition of Joint
Joint hypermobility syndrome: A common benign childhood condition involving hypermobile joints (that can move beyond the normal range of motion). Symptoms include pains in knees, fingers, hips, and elbows. The affected joints may sprain or dislocate. Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) is more frequent. Usually improves with adulthood. Also called the hypermobility syndrome.
Knee: The knee is a joint which has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap (the patella) joins the femur to form a third joint, called the patellofemoral joint. The patella protects the front of the knee joint. See the entire definition of Knee
Normal range: By convention, the normal range for whatever (a particular test, condition, symptom, behavior, etc.) is set to cover ninety-five percent (95%) of all values from the general population. Five percent (5%) of results consequently fall outside the normal range. Values that prove normal can therefore sometimes be outside the normal range. See the entire definition of Normal range
Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors. See the entire definition of Pain
Predispose: To make more likely or render susceptible. Smoking predisposes to a number of diseases, including esophageal cancer.
Prognosis:1. The expected course of a disease. 2. The patient's chance of recovery. The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient. His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good. See the entire definition of Prognosis
Protein: A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein. See the entire definition of Protein
Scoliosis: Sideways (lateral) curving of the spine (the backbone). See the entire definition of Scoliosis
Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects the spinal cord. The spine can be categorized according to level of the body: i.e., cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper and middle back), and lumbar spine (lower back). See also vertebral column. 2) Any short prominence of bone. The spines of the vertebrae protrude at the base of the back of the neck and in the middle of the back. These spines protect the spinal cord from injury from behind.
Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease. See the entire definition of Syndrome
Trauma: Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects. See the entire definition of Trauma
Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are genetic disorders that include symptoms such as loose joints, tissue weakness, easy bruising, and skin that stretches easily. There are seven types of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes: Classical type, Hypermobility type, Vascular type, Kyphoscoliosis type, Arthrochalsia type, Dermatosparaxis type, and Tenascin-X Deficient type. Treatment for Ehlers-Danlos syndromes depends on which symptoms are present.
Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are a group of disorders which share common
features including easy bruising, joint hypermobility (loose joints),
skin that stretches easily (skin hyperelasticity or laxity), and weakness of tissues.
The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are inherited in the genes that are passed from parents to offspring. They are
categorized according to the form of genetic transmission into different types with many
features differing between patients in any given type. The fragile skin and loose joints is often a result of abnormal genes that produce abnormal proteins that
confer an inherited frailty of collagen (the normal protein "glue" of our tissues).
In 2001, researchers discovered a new form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome that is caused by an inherited abnormality in a protein other than collagen that also normally
plays a role in binding together the cells of our tissues (including the skin, tendons, muscle...