# Muscle Deterioration **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2000, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897 "2000-02-04T16:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/1 "2000-02-04T16:31:00Z")
This is driving me nuts. I can’t think of the word that describes muscle deterioration for patients that are bed-ridden. Someone please help me think of this word. ---
**Author:** ![PUNdit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@PUNdit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PUNdit)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/2 "2000-02-04T16:34:00Z")
## Are you thinking of atrophy? “You can be smart or pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” Elwood P. Dowd ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/3 "2000-02-04T16:34:00Z")
WAG: myasthenia gravis? ---
**Author:** ![Germ\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Germ\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Germ_Boy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/4 "2000-02-05T06:15:00Z")
The term is atrophy.(We sometimes refer to it as de-conditioning) Myasthenia gravis is a neuro-muscular transmitter deficiency disease. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/5 "2000-02-05T01:34:00Z")
“myasthenia gravis?” Wow, that was the disease that I worked on laboratory rats with at the Salk Institute. It does something similar but its not the answer. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/6 "2000-02-05T06:42:00Z")
I agree with atrophy as the term for muscle wasting caused by disuse. ## It is NOT related to Myasthenia gravis, but since the condition was mentioned, I thought I’d provide this link: [http://www.myasthenia.org/information/practical.htm](http://www.myasthenia.org/information/practical.htm) Sue from El Paso Siamese Attack Puppet - Texas Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. ---
**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/7 "2000-02-05T20:55:00Z")
I agree that “atrophy” is probably what you’re looking for. I post only as trivia master to add that the condition of extreme muscle growth found in weightlifters is called “hypertrophy”. ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/8 "2000-02-07T13:23:00Z")
Thanks for the information. The word I was thinking of was atrophy, and I didn’t have a chance to check this all weekend. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscle-deterioration/6897/9 "2000-02-07T23:22:00Z")
## Extreme muscle development, as APB9999 said, is hypertrophy. Hypertrophy of the forearm and fingers is called bowlingtrophy. AskNott