dermatomyositis
- 1A connective-tissue disease, related to polymyositis, marked by inflammation of the muscles and the skin.
Her dermatomyositis was diagnosed after months of muscle weakness and a stubborn facial rash.
Treatment for dermatomyositis usually combines corticosteroids with drugs that calm the immune system.
Note
The name is built like a medical inventory: dermato-, "skin," joined to myositis, "inflammation of muscle," so it spells out both tissues the disease attacks. That is also what sets it apart in name from polymyositis, which names only the muscles. It is usually uncountable (a diagnosis of dermatomyositis). The Greek-style plural dermatomyositides appears only when separate cases or forms are being counted.
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Origin
Formed from the combining form "dermato-", meaning skin, plus "myositis", meaning inflammation of the muscles.