Malacia is abnormal softening of a biological tissue, most often cartilage. The word is derived from Greek μαλακός, malakos = soft. Usually the combining form -malacia suffixed to another combining form that denotes the affected tissue assigns a more specific name to each such disorder, as follows:
- Osteomalacia (rickets), a bone disorder from vitamin D deficiency
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Chondromalacia, softening of cartilage (often refers to chondromalacia patellae when mentioned without further specification)
- Chondromalacia patellae, a disorder of cartilage under the kneecap
- Bronchomalacia, a disorder of the bronchial tubes' cartilage
- Laryngomalacia, a disorder of the larynx's cartilage
- Tracheomalacia, a disorder of the trachea's cartilage
- Keratomalacia, an eye disorder from vitamin A deficiency
- Myelomalacia, a disorder of the spinal cord
- Cerebral softening (encephalomalacia), localized softening of brain tissue
External links
Look up malacia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.