Monoarticular

Monoarticular (from the Greek μόνος (mónos) → "alone", "only", "one"; from the medical terminology "articular" → "concerning the joint"; "concerning a joint") describes something in medicine that only relates to one joint or (e.g. with muscles) only acts on one joint.

Application examples

Muscles and their associated tendons can be mono-articular if they move only one joint when they contract. The brachialis muscle on the upper arm, the second major flexor in the elbow, is monoarticular. In other muscles, such as the two-headed biceps brachii , the short tendon is monoarticular, but the long tendon also passes through the shoulder joint and is biarticular.

In the case of inflammation of a joint, arthritis , it is important for the differential diagnosis, especially with regard to rheumatic diseases , to distinguish whether only one joint ("monoarticular"), some joints ("oligoarticular"), or many joints (" polyarticular ") are affected.