Meaning & use
monoplegia
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
Paralysis affecting only one limb.
Grammar: Uncountable: often used without 'a' or 'the', but can be countable in medical contexts.
Patterns
- suffer from monoplegia
- monoplegia of the arm
The patient was diagnosed with monoplegia after the stroke.
Monoplegia can result from damage to the spinal cord or brain.
Physical therapy helped him manage monoplegia in his right leg.
Common combinations
- suffer from monoplegia
- She suffered from monoplegia following the accident.
- monoplegia of the arm
- Monoplegia of the arm made it difficult to lift objects.
- congenital monoplegia
- Congenital monoplegia was present from birth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- paresis
- Paresis means weakness rather than complete paralysis; monoplegia implies full loss of movement in one limb.
Word family
- monoplegic adjective
- Relating to or affected by monoplegia.
- hemiplegia noun
- Paralysis of one side of the body.
- paraplegia noun
- Paralysis of both legs and sometimes the lower body.
Commonly confused: monoplegia or hemiplegia? monoplegia or paraplegia?
monoplegia vs hemiplegia
Hemiplegia affects one side of the body (arm and leg), while monoplegia affects only a single limb.
monoplegia vs paraplegia
Paraplegia affects both legs, whereas monoplegia affects just one limb.
Practice
Monoplegia refers to paralysis of:
Choose one answer.
The prefix 'mono-' means one, and '-plegia' means paralysis, so monoplegia is paralysis of a single limb. Hemiplegia affects one side, and paraplegia affects both legs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “monoplegia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.