Medical Term:
osteomalacia
Pronunciation: os′tē-ō-mă-lā′shē-ă
Definition: A disease in adults characterized by a gradual softening and bending of the bones with varying severity of pain; softening occurs because the bones contain osteoid tissue that has failed to calcify because of lack of vitamin D or renal tubular dysfunction; more common in women than in men, osteomalacia often begins during pregnancy.
Synonym(s): adult rickets, late rickets, rachitis tarda
[osteo- + G. malakia, softness]
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Examples: glitazone, GI cocktail, etc.
