Varus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A deformity in which a limb is bent or twisted inward toward the body's midline, or the condition of being abnormally turned inward from the normal anatomical position
2. A physical condition where bones or limbs bend inward towards the center of the body, resulting in structural misalignment and dysfunction
3. A condition characterized by an inward angulation of a bone or limb below the knee or elbow, causing the affected part to turn toward the body's midline

Etymology: Latin "varus" meant "bent" or "bent inward," describing something twisted out of straight alignment, usually with the tip or lower part turning toward the middle. That is the whole of the original idea, and medicine kept it almost unchanged: the word names a limb that bends inward, with the foot or hand swinging toward the body's centre line. English took the term directly from Latin, so the medical sense is the Latin one carried over. The word has stayed a technical term, used in clinical description of bone and joint deformities, and it has not drifted into everyday speech.

Synonyms: bowlegged

Antonyms: valgus