Rheumatology Etymology

Sources:

1. gout. Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus website. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gout. Accessed July 21, 2011.
2. Pillinger MH, Rosenthal P, Abeles AM. Hyperuricemia and gout: new insights into pathogenesis and treatment”. Bulletin of the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. 2007;65:215–221. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout#cite_note-Pillinger-45. Accessed July 20, 2011.
3. Richette P, Bardin T. Gout. Lancet. 2010;375:318-328. Accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout#cite_note-Pillinger-45. Accessed July 21, 2011.

IMMUNE:

This word is from Middle English and derives from the Latin immunis, from in- + munia, meaning to be free from services or obligations, i.e. taxes. Its first known use was documented in the 15th century, but the concept was written about by the Greek Thucydides in 430 BCE when the plague attacked Athens.

Sources:

1. immune. Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus website. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immune. Accessed July 21, 2011.
2. Gherardi E. The Concept of Immunity. History and Applications. Immunology Course Medical School, University of Pavia. Accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune#cite_note-Gheradi-2, on July 21, 2011.

The word skeleton derives from the 1570s.

SPONDYLITIS:

Simply defined as “inflammation of the vertebrae,” spondylitis was first used in 1849 and comes from the Greek sphondylos for vertebra. This symptom is most commonly found in Pott Disease.

Source:

1. spondylitis. Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus website. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spondylitis?show=0&t=1311263131 Accessed July 21, 2011.

SKELETAL:

An adjective referring to anything associated with the skeleton. The first known use of the word occurred in 1854. The word “skeleton” derives from the 1570s and descends from the Latin sceleton for “bones, bony framework of the body.” That comes from the Greek skeleton soma meaning “dried-up body, mummy,” whose originating words mean imply “dried up” and “dry up.”

Sources:

1. skeletal. Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus website. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeletal. Accessed July 21, 2011.
2. skeleton. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skeleton Accessed July 21, 2011.

Michael O’Neal is a writer based in New York.