Bowleg Health Dictionary

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Bowleg: From 1 Different Sources

An outward curving of bones in the legs that results in wide separation of the knees when the feet are together. Bowlegs are common in very young children and are a normal part of development. In most cases, the curve straightens as the child grows. If the bowing is severe, is on one side only, or persists beyond the age of 6, a doctor should be consulted. Surgery may be needed. Rarely, leg deformity is a result of bone disease, particularly rickets (a vitamin D deficiency) in children.
Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association

Genu Varum

See bowleg.... genu varum

Vulvovaginitis

Inflammation of the vulva and vagina. Vulvovaginitis is often provoked as a result of the infections candidiasis or trichomoniasis. (See also vaginitis; vulvitis.)

walking Movement of the body by lifting the feet alternately and bringing 1 foot into contact with the ground before the other starts to leave it. A person’s gait is determined by body shape, size, and posture. The age at which children first walk varies enormously.

Walking is controlled by nerve signals from the brain’s motor cortex (see cerebrum), basal ganglia, and cerebellum that travel via the spinal cord to the muscles. Abnormal gait may be caused by joint stiffness, muscle weakness (sometimes due to conditions such as poliomyelitis or muscular dystrophy), or skeletal abnormalities (see, for example, talipes; hip, congenital dislocation of; scoliosis; bone tumour; arthritis). Children may develop knock-knee or bowleg; synovitis of the hip and Perthes’ disease are also common. Adolescents may develop a painful limp due to a slipped epiphysis (see femoral epiphysis, slipped) or to fracture or disease of the tibia, fibula or femur.

Abnormal gait may also be the result of neurological disorders such as stroke (commonly resulting in hemiplegia), parkinsonism, peripheral neuritis, multiple sclerosis, various forms of myelitis, and chorea.

Ménière’s disease may cause severe loss of balance and instability.... vulvovaginitis


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