Meaning & use
Dupuytren's
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A condition in which tissue under the skin of the palm thickens and tightens, pulling one or more fingers toward the palm.
Grammar: Used as a fixed medical term, usually in the phrase Dupuytren's contracture; it takes no article.
Patterns
- Dupuytren's contracture
- have Dupuytren's
- surgery for Dupuytren's
Dupuytren's contracture usually starts as a small firm lump in the palm.
His doctor diagnosed Dupuytren's after noticing that his ring finger would not lie flat.
Mild Dupuytren's often needs no treatment beyond regular check-ups.
Common combinations
- Dupuytren's contracture
- Dupuytren's contracture can make it hard to grip a cup or open your hand fully.
- suffer from Dupuytren's
- Many older men suffer from Dupuytren's without seeking treatment.
- Dupuytren's disease
- Some doctors prefer the term Dupuytren's disease because the tissue itself changes.
- surgery for Dupuytren's
- Surgery for Dupuytren's is usually considered only when the fingers cannot straighten.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Dupuytren's contracture
- The full medical name; the short form Dupuytren's is common in speech once the condition is known.
- palmar fibromatosis
- A technical term for the same thickening of tissue, used mainly in medical writing rather than with patients.
Word family
- Dupuytren proper noun
- The French surgeon Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, after whom the condition is named.
Commonly confused: Dupuytren's or trigger finger?
Dupuytren's vs trigger finger
Trigger finger also affects finger movement, but it is a catching or locking of a tendon, not a tightening of palm tissue.
Practice
A patient cannot fully straighten the ring finger because of a tight cord in the palm. Which term fits best?
Choose one answer.
Dupuytren's contracture is the palm-tissue condition that pulls a finger down; the other options name different injuries or conditions in other places.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Dupuytren's”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.