Explanations of Latin diagnoses around the knee
In medicine, diagnoses are often given in Latin. Although this enables international communication in medical circles, the Latin diagnoses are usually completely incomprehensible to the patient. If the Latin diagnoses are also abbreviated, even medical experts are puzzled about their meaning.
To make it easier for you to decipher the diagnoses and understand their meaning, you will find an overview of the most common Latin terms relating to the knee below.
Most frequent knee-related diagnoses
Diagnoses around the knee
| Latin abbreviation |
Latin term |
English meaning |
| Arthrosis |
Arthrosis |
Osteoarthritis, joint wear |
| Chondropathia |
Chondropathia |
Chondropathy, damage to the joint cartilage |
| Cont. |
Contusio |
Bruise |
| Cont. gen. |
Contusio genus |
Bruise of the knee |
| Corp. lib. |
Corpus liberum |
Free joint body |
| Dist. |
Distorsio |
Strain |
| Dist. artic. gen. |
Distorsio articulationis genus |
Straining of the knee joint |
| Dist. lig. collat. lat. gen. |
Distorsio ligamenti collateralis lateralis genu |
Strain of the outer collateral ligament of the knee joint |
| Dist. lig. collat. med. gen. |
Distorsio ligamenti collateralis medialis genu |
Strain of the inner collateral ligament of the knee joint |
| Genu recurvatum |
Genu recurvatum |
Hyperextendable knee joint |
| Genu valgum |
Genu valgum |
Knock-kneed, valgus malalignment of the knee |
| Genu varum |
Genu varum |
bow-leg, varus malalignment of the knee |
| Haemarthros |
Haemarthros |
Haematoma in the joint |
| Haem. |
Haematoma |
Bruise |
| Hydrops |
Hydrops |
Joint effusion |
| Inflamm. |
Inflammatio |
Inflammation |
| Laes. |
Laesio |
Injury |
| Laes. cart. |
Laesio cartilaginis |
Injury of the cartilage |
| Rerupt. |
Reruptura |
Repeated tear |
| Rupt. lig. collat. lat. gen. |
Ruptura ligamenti collateralis lateralis genu |
Tear of the outer collateral ligament of the knee joint |
| Rupt. lig. collat. med. gen. |
Ruptura ligamenti collateralis medialis genu |
Tear of the inner collateral ligament of the knee joint |
| Rupt. lig. cruc. ant. gen. |
Ruptura ligamenti cruciati anterioris genus |
Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament |
| Rupt. lig. cruc. post. gen. |
Ruptura ligamenti cruciati posterioris genus |
Rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament |
| Rupt. lig. patell. |
Ruptura ligamenti patellae |
Rupture of the patellar tendon |
| Rupt. men. lat |
Ruptura menisci lateralis |
Tear of the outer meniscus |
| Rupt. men. med. |
Ruptura menisci medialis |
Tear of the inner meniscus |
| Rupt. tend. musc. quadric. Fem. |
Ruptura tendinis musculi quadricipitis femoris |
Rupture of the quadriceps tendon |
Anatomical structures around the knee
| Latin abbreviation |
Latin term |
English meaning |
| Artic. |
Articulatio |
Joint |
| Cart. |
Cartilago |
Cartilage |
| Fem. |
Femur |
Femur |
| Gen. |
Genu |
Knee |
| Lig. |
Ligamentum |
Ligament |
| Lig. collat. |
Ligamentum collaterale |
Collateral ligament |
| Lig. collat. lat. |
Ligamentum collaterale laterale |
Outer collateral ligament |
| Lig. collat. med. |
Ligamentum collaterale mediale |
Inner collateral ligament |
| Lig. cruc. |
Ligamentum cruciatum |
Cruciate ligament |
| Lig. cruc. ant. |
Ligamentum cruciatum anterius |
Anterior cruciate ligament |
| Lig. cruc. post. |
Ligamentum cruciatum posterius |
Posterior cruciate ligament |
| Men. |
Meniscus |
Meniscus |
| M. |
Musculus |
Muscle |
| Patell. |
Patella |
Kneecap |
| Tend. |
Tendo |
Tendon |
| Tib. |
Tibia |
Shin |
Localisations
| Latin abbreviation |
Latin term |
English meaning |
| dext. |
dexter, -tra, -trum |
right |
| lat. |
lateralis |
outside |
| med. |
medialis |
inside |
| sin. |
sinister, -tra, -trum |
left |
| utriusque |
utriusque |
both sides |
Additions
| Latin abbreviation |
Latin term |
English meaning |
| fixat. |
fixatus, -a, -um |
immobilised (with a splint, plaster, etc.) |
| infect. |
infectus, -a, -um |
infected |
| invet. |
inveteratus, -a, -um |
old |
| non rec. |
non recens |
not recent |
| operat. |
operatus, -a, -um |
operated |
| part. |
partialis |
Partial, incomplete |
| rec. |
recens |
fresh |
| sanat. |
sanatus, -a, -um |
cured |
| suturat. |
suturatus, -a, -um |
stitched |