Conditions & Diseases: Bones, Muscles & Joints

Bursitis

See Also:
Bursitis: Introduction & Overview
Bursitis: Types
Bursitis: Causes & Risk Factors
Bursitis: Symptoms & Diagnosis Methods
Bursitis: Treatment & Prevention Options

Introduction and Overview

Bursae (singular: bursa) are small closed flat fluid filled sacs located adjacent to the tendons around large joints and between muscle attachments at a joint. The joints include the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. There are about 160 bursae in a human body functioning as cushion and helping in gliding on surface facilitating in reduction of friction between the body tissues. The bursae could be deep bursae such as the subacromial and iliopsoas bursae or superficial bursae such as the olecranon and prepatellar bursae (1).

Bursitis is a temporary painful inflammation of bursae due to repetitive usage, trauma, infection and systemic inflammatory condition such as rheumatoid arthritis. Bursitis is a less prevalent form of arthritis with fewer than 200,000 cases in the US (1), (2) & (3).

See Also:
Bursitis: Introduction & Overview
Bursitis: Types
Bursitis: Causes & Risk Factors
Bursitis: Symptoms & Diagnosis Methods
Bursitis: Treatment & Prevention Options

Bursitis is sometimes misspelled as bursitus, bersitis, and bucitis.

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com