Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An abnormal, often permanent shortening, as of muscle or scar tissue, that results in distortion or deformity, especially of a joint of the body.
- noun A deformity resulting from a contracture.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Contraction, as of muscles; contortion produced by muscular contraction; specifically, a permanent shortening of a muscle.
- noun Taking; catching: as, contracture of a fever.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Med.) A state of permanent rigidity or contraction of the muscles, generally of the flexor muscles.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun medicine An abnormal, sometimes permanent,
contraction of amuscle ; adeformity so caused
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an abnormal and usually permanent contraction of a muscle
Etymologies
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Examples
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A contracture is a shortening of muscles and tendons (cords) so that the full range of limb movement is prevented.
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Food and Drug Administration or in the European Union for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, which is treated primarily by an open surgical procedure.
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A submuscular placement of the breast implant reduces the risk of capsular contracture, which is a hardening of the tissue around the breast implant and is an undesirable complication.
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Food and Drug Administration or in the European Union for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, which is treated primarily by an open surgical procedure.
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It's called capsular contracture … Women with capsular contracture often end up with disfigured breasts and pain.
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Injections of the drug Xiaflex, approved by the FDA in February, treats Dupuytren's contracture by breaking up hardened collagen cords that curl fingers inward, offering an alternative to open surgery and a minimally invasive procedure using needles to divide the cords.
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Using textured implants can reduce the risk of contracture (hardening of the capsule).
Plastic Surgery May Turn Patient Into Disfigured Monster | Impact Lab 2007
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In addition, the FDA offers a pamphlet and a booklet that include photographs and describe many of the problems women experience with breast implants for example, capsular contracture, infection, and necrosis.
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause M.D. Vivian Pinn 2006
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In addition, the FDA offers a pamphlet and a booklet that include photographs and describe many of the problems women experience with breast implants for example, capsular contracture, infection, and necrosis.
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause M.D. Vivian Pinn 2006
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In addition, the FDA offers a pamphlet and a booklet that include photographs and describe many of the problems women experience with breast implants for example, capsular contracture, infection, and necrosis.
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause M.D. Vivian Pinn 2006
chained_bear commented on the word contracture
"... But as he watched, he had seen Gillespie suddenly sit up amid the flames, and turn his head.
'He was lookin' straight at me,' he said. 'Had I been in my right mind, I expect I would ha' let out a rare skelloch. As it was, it only seemed ... friendly of Graham.' There was a hint of uneasy amusement in his voice. 'I thought he was perhaps tellin' me it wasna so bad, being dead. That, or welcoming me to hell, maybe.'
'Postmortem contracture,' I said, absorbed in the excavation of the digestive system. 'Fire makes the muscles contract, and the limbs often twist into very lifelike positions.'"
—Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross (NY: Bantam Dell, 2001), 751
January 26, 2010