Meaning & use
tetraplegia
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
Paralysis affecting all four limbs and usually the trunk, caused by damage to the spinal cord in the neck.
Grammar: Used without an article: he lives with tetraplegia.
Patterns
- live with tetraplegia
- result in tetraplegia
- tetraplegia caused by something
A diving accident left him with tetraplegia at the age of nineteen.
Specialist rehabilitation helps people with tetraplegia regain as much independence as possible.
The study looked at how technology can support people with tetraplegia at work.
Common combinations
- live with tetraplegia
- She has lived with tetraplegia for over ten years.
- cause tetraplegia
- A fall can damage the spinal cord and cause tetraplegia.
- incomplete tetraplegia
- With incomplete tetraplegia, some feeling or movement remains.
- tetraplegia patient
- Each tetraplegia patient follows an individual therapy plan.
- develop tetraplegia
- He developed tetraplegia after a spinal tumor was found.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quadriplegia
- Quadriplegia means exactly the same and is the more usual choice in American English.
- paralysis
- Paralysis is a broader word for loss of movement in any part of the body, while tetraplegia means paralysis affecting all four limbs.
Word family
- tetraplegic adjective
- affected by tetraplegia
- tetraplegic noun
- a person who has tetraplegia (the neutral phrase person with tetraplegia is often preferred)
- paraplegia noun
- paralysis of the legs and lower body
- hemiplegia noun
- paralysis of one side of the body
- quadriplegia noun
- American term for the same condition
Commonly confused: tetraplegia or paraplegia?
tetraplegia vs paraplegia
Paraplegia affects the legs and lower body only, whereas tetraplegia also involves the arms.
Practice
Which condition does tetraplegia describe?
Choose one answer.
Tetra- means four, so tetraplegia involves all four limbs. Paralysis of only the legs is paraplegia.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tetraplegia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.