frozen shoulder

shoulder

 [shōl´der]

the area around the glenohumeral joint, the large ball-and-socket joint where the humerus joins the scapula. The smooth, rounded head of the humerus rests against the socket in the scapula. The joint is covered by a tough, flexible protective capsule and is heavily reinforced by ligaments that stretch across the joint. The ends of the bones where they meet at the joint are covered with a layer of cartilage that reduces friction and absorbs shock. A thin membrane, the synovial membrane, lines the socket and lubricates the joint with synovia. Further cushioning and lubrication are provided by fluid-filled sacs called bursae. Disorders of the shoulder include bursitis and dislocation.

Coronal section through the shoulder joint.

frozen shoulder popular but misleading name for adhesive capsulitis.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

ad·he·sive cap·su·li·tis

a condition in which joint motion becomes restricted because of inflammatory thickening of the capsule; a common cause of shoulder stiffness.

Synonym(s): frozen shoulder

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

A shoulder with incapacitating pain due to bursitis and inflammation due to 1º or 2º osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cuff tear arthropathy and the clinically similar ‘Milwaukee shoulder,’ postmastectomy, avascular necrosis, calcific tendonitis and tearing of the rotator cuff muscles

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

frozen shoulder

Orthopedics A shoulder with incapacitating pain due to bursitis and inflammation, due to 1º or 2º osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cuff tear arthropathy and the clinically similar 'Milwaukee shoulder', postmastectomy, avascular necrosis, and calcific tendonitis, and tearing of the rotator cuff muscles

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

frozen shoulder

Painful, persistent stiffness of the shoulder joint that restricts normal movement. The condition affects middle-aged people and usually follows injury or over-enthusiastic exercising. It may also complicate a heart attack (MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION) or STROKE, or may occur for no known reason. It is due to inflammation of the capsule of the joint, leading to thickening, and usually settles spontaneously within 2 years.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

Frozen shoulder

A shoulder that becomes scarred and cannot move.

Mentioned in: Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.