atrophic

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparablemedical

   Affected by atrophy, meaning a body part or tissue has shrunk or wasted away.

   Grammar: Used before a noun: atrophic muscle, or after a linking verb.

   Patterns

   • atrophic tissue
   • atrophic changes

   The scan showed atrophic muscles in the patient's left leg.

   Doctors saw atrophic changes in the lining of the stomach.

   The long cast left the limb thin and atrophic.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounmedicalspecialist

   Describing a condition that causes tissue to shrink or thin.

   Grammar: Used in names of conditions: atrophic gastritis.

   Patterns

   • atrophic gastritis
   • atrophic rhinitis

   Atrophic gastritis can reduce stomach acid.

   Atrophic scars appear as small dents in the skin.

Common combinations

atrophic scar

Acne can leave an atrophic scar on the cheek.

atrophic gastritis

The patient was diagnosed with atrophic gastritis.

atrophic muscle

The therapist worked on the atrophic muscle.

atrophic changes

The doctors noticed atrophic changes in the brain scan.

Synonyms and how they differ

wasted

Wasted is more everyday and can describe a thin body, while atrophic is a clinical term for shrinking tissue.

shrunken

Shrunken means reduced in size for any reason, while atrophic points to disuse or disease.

degenerated

Degenerated suggests general decline in quality, while atrophic means wasting in size.

Opposites

Word family

atrophy noun

the wasting away of a body part

atrophy verb

to waste away or shrink

atrophied adjective

having wasted away

hypertrophy noun

abnormal growth in size of an organ

Commonly confused: atrophic or hypertrophic?

Practice

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