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A bursa is a little pouch filled with fluid that sits between a tendon and a bone. When the fluid becomes infected by bacteria or irritated by too much movement, bursitis results. Throwing a baseball too many times at one session, for example, may inflame and irritate one of the bursae (notice the plural form) in the shoulder. Bursitis in another part of the body may be known by a traditional name such as "housemaid's knee", "soldier's heel", or "tennis elbow". Bursitis generally goes away after a few weeks of resting the affected area, and the pain can be treated with ice packs and aspirin.
Examples of bursitis in a Sentence
Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 17 Aug. 2025
Meyer missed all of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and went 3-5 with a 5.68 ERA in 11 starts last season before missing September with shoulder bursitis.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 June 2025
Bouts of bursitis and bronchitis prompted her to hire a succession of nurses and helpers, one of whom—Gladys Berry—would work for Moore into her old age.
—Susan Gubar
june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Buehler was placed on the IL on May 2 with shoulder bursitis and had thrown 52 pitches over 2 1/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts before the ejection.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bursitis
Cite this Entry
“Bursitis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bursitis. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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bursitis
noun
Medical Definition
bursitis
noun
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