Tendinitis or Tendonitis. Acute Vowel Obstruction

Seriously  now, how hard can it be to decide on the spelling of this common medical condition.  Both terms are used interchangeably in the medical and lay literature which would suggest that both are okay, but really, should we really be tossing vowels about willy-nilly as if it doesn't matter.  I can't think of any other inflammatory diseases that have two spellings, and for good reason.  If proctitis was spelled prictitis we might be scoping the wrong organ.  Gingovitis sounds like a hip hopper with gum disease.  Rhinitis becomes rhonitis and now we're talking about two different river systems altogether aren't we.  It makes no sense.  I suggest we decide once and for all, here and now.  But which way is best.

tendon+itis=tendonitis. Logical right?

But logic isn't everything in language so what do the dictionaries say?  Both the Oxford and Webster dictionaries say both are okay.  Cop out.

Wickipedia calls it tendinitis, but in the same article refers to common tendonitis injuries.  Confused.

My spell-check prefers tendinitis, but it doesn't accept rheumatology as a word so how much credibility can I give it?

A google search of tendonitis finds 1,810,000 hits while tendinitis falls short at 1,580,000.  The masses have spoken.

A google scholar search finds 10,500 for tendonitis and 17,200 for tendinitis.  The braniacs rebut.

So consensus is unlikely in the near future, but there might be a way out.  Research shows that there is, in fact, very little inflammation involved in what we call tendinitis/tendonitis and therefore the 'itis' should be dropped altogether.  It is suggested that it should be called tendinopathy instead.

Or should that be tendonopathy.

Comments

[Chelsea]

I would say tendonitis too. Interesting about there being little actual inflammation. When I start to go into an RA flare, it's often, if not always, in the tendons that I feel it, although there is no visible swelling. These were the first signs of my RA in the beginning also. That and bursitis. I've felt at times that my rheumy doesn't think I'm flaring based on this, but I read an article not long ago, albeit on an animal model of arthritis that found that the tendons and bursa were the first changes to occur. Do you come across this much with your RA patients?