: necrosis of bone tissue due to impaired or disrupted blood supply (as from traumatic injury or disease)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebPortillo was afraid of catching the coronavirus, given his preexisting health conditions — HIV and avascular necrosis, a disease that has degraded his bone tissue — and isolated himself for months.Washington Post, 23 July 2021 Eddie had been diagnosed with avascular necrosis in his hip.Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2020
Word History
First Known Use
1953, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
avascular necrosis
noun
: necrosis of bone tissue due to impaired or disrupted blood supply (as that caused by traumatic injury or disease) and marked by severe pain in the affected region and by weakened bone that may flatten and collapse