Meaning & use
muscular dystrophy
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A group of inherited diseases in which the muscles gradually become weaker and waste away over time.
Grammar: Uncountable and no article: he has muscular dystrophy.
Patterns
- have muscular dystrophy
- be diagnosed with muscular dystrophy
- research into muscular dystrophy
He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a young boy and later began to use a wheelchair.
The charity raises money for research into muscular dystrophy.
Duchenne is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children.
Common combinations
- be diagnosed with muscular dystrophy
- She was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at age six.
- suffer from muscular dystrophy
- Many people who suffer from muscular dystrophy need daily care.
- research into muscular dystrophy
- A new study may speed research into muscular dystrophy.
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy mainly affects boys.
- a charity for muscular dystrophy
- They ran a marathon for a charity for muscular dystrophy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- MD
- MD is the common abbreviation, but in medical writing it can also mean doctor of medicine, so the full name is clearer.
Word family
- muscular adjective
- relating to muscles, or having strong muscles
- muscle noun
- tissue that produces movement
- dystrophic adjective
- relating to wasting or poor growth of tissue
- atrophy noun
- the wasting away of a body part
Commonly confused: muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis?
muscular dystrophy vs multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis affects the nerves and is not inherited in the same way. Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that weakens the muscles themselves.
Practice
Muscular dystrophy is best described as a ___.
Choose one answer.
Muscular dystrophy is an inherited condition in which muscles lose strength. The other options describe different problems.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “muscular dystrophy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.