Malacia

Malacia is abnormal softening of a biological tissue, most often cartilage. The word is derived from Greek μαλακός, malakos = soft. Usually the combining form -malacia suffixed to another combining form that denotes the affected tissue assigns a more specific name to each such disorder, as follows:

• Osteomalacia (rickets), a bone disorder from vitamin D deficiency ^[1]
• Chondromalacia, softening of cartilage (often refers to chondromalacia patellae when mentioned without further specification)
  • Chondromalacia patellae, a disorder of cartilage under the kneecap ^[2]
  • Bronchomalacia, a disorder of the bronchial tubes' cartilage ^[3]
  • Laryngomalacia, a disorder of the larynx's cartilage
  • Tracheomalacia, a disorder of the trachea's cartilage ^[3]
• Keratomalacia, an eye disorder from vitamin A deficiency
• Myelomalacia, a disorder of the spinal cord
• Cerebral softening (encephalomalacia), localized softening of brain tissue