muscular dystrophy


nounPathology.
  1. a hereditary disease characterized by gradual wasting of the muscles with replacement by scar tissue and fat, sometimes also affecting the heart.

Origin of muscular dystrophy

1
First recorded in 1865–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use muscular dystrophy in a sentence

  • The denominations "myoclonus," "muscular dystrophy," "degenerate," are alike inconvenient.

British Dictionary definitions for muscular dystrophy

muscular dystrophy

noun
  1. a genetic disease characterized by progressive deterioration and wasting of muscle fibres, causing difficulty in walking

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for muscular dystrophy

muscular dystrophy

[ mŭskyə-lər dĭstrə-fē ]


  1. Any of a group of inherited progressive muscle disorders caused by a defect in one or more genes that control muscle function and characterized by gradual irreversible wasting of skeletal muscle.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for muscular dystrophy

muscular dystrophy

[ (dis-truh-fee) ]


A hereditary disease in which the muscles progressively waste away. The disease can be potentially treated through gene therapy.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.