Definition

1. Verb (Intransitive):
   • To undergo ankylosis; to become stiff and immobile, especially referring to a joint, due to disease, injury, or surgical fusion.
2. Verb (Transitive):
   • To cause ankylosis in a joint; to surgically produce the stiffening and fusion of a joint.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Intransitive):
  • Without treatment, the bones in the joint may ancylose, leading to a complete loss of movement.
  • The patient's knee began to ancylose after the severe infection.
• Verb (Transitive):
  • The surgeon had to ancylose the vertebrae to stabilize the patient's spine.
  • In some severe cases of arthritis, doctors may choose to ancylose the joint to relieve pain.

Advanced Usage

• Medical/Technical Context: The term is almost exclusively used in medical, anatomical, or veterinary contexts to describe pathological stiffening or intentional surgical fusion.
  • The goal of the procedure is to ancylose the sacroiliac joint, eliminating its painful motion.

Variants and Related Words

• Ankylose: This is the more common and standard spelling of the same word. "Ancylose" is a variant spelling.
• Ankylosis (n): The pathological condition or surgical result of a joint becoming stiff and fused.
  • The X-ray confirmed the ankylosis of the hip joint.
• Ankylotic (adj): Relating to or affected by ankylosis.
  • The patient presented with ankylotic changes in the fingers.

Synonyms

• Fuse: (For the transitive sense) To join or become joined, especially bones.
• Stiffen: (For the intransitive sense) To become rigid or less flexible.
• Arthrodesis (n): The surgical procedure designed to produce ankylosis; a synonym for the surgical action.

Related Phrases/Concepts

• "To become ankylosed": A common passive construction describing the state of a joint.
  • The joint became ankylosed over time.
• "Surgical ankylosis": The deliberate fusion of a joint performed by a surgeon.

Verb

1. undergo ankylosis
   • joints ankylose
2. produce ankylosis by surgery