Ligament in Spanish

What does a ligament do?

MedlinePlus defines a ligament as a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone and says it usually serves to hold structures together and keep them stable. The Real Academia Española dictionary marks two senses of ligamento as anatomy: the fibrous tissue that binds the bones of the joints, and a membranous fold that links or holds an organ of the body in its proper position.

Ligament or tendon?

MedlinePlus sets the two words side by side: a tendon attaches muscle to bone and serves to move the bone or structure, while a ligament attaches bone to bone. The injury names follow the same split. A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament, and a strain is a stretched or torn muscle or tendon.

What it means

A ligament is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone. MedlinePlus says a ligament usually serves to hold structures together and keep them stable, and describes ligaments as tissues that connect bones at a joint. The Real Academia Española dictionary gives the anatomical sense of the Spanish word, ligamento, as a connecting element of very homogeneous, highly resistant fibrous tissue that binds the bones of the joints. A tendon, by comparison, is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone. A stretched or torn ligament is called a sprain; MedlinePlus says falling, twisting, or getting hit can all cause a sprain, and that symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move the joint.

Ligament in Spanish

Spanish term: Ligamento
Gender and article: masculine: el ligamento
Pronunciation: lee-gah-MEHN-toh

Ligamento is a masculine noun in the Real Academia Española dictionary, from Latin ligamentum: el ligamento, un ligamento. The dictionary marks two of its senses as anatomy (Anat.): the tissue that binds the bones of the joints, and a membranous fold that links or holds an organ in position. MedlinePlus en español uses the plural, los ligamentos, in its own definition: "Los ligamentos son tejidos que conectan los huesos de una articulación."

The English pair sprain and strain turns on this word. MedlinePlus en español calls the ligament injury a torcedura and lists esguinces among the other names for its page, while distensiones are stretched or torn muscles or tendons. Other words from the same pages: huesos (bones), articulación (joint), tendones (tendons), tejido conectivo fibroso (fibrous connective tissue), tobillo (ankle), muñeca (wrist), hematomas (bruising) and chasquido (pop).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I twisted my ankle yesterday, and I felt a pop.	Ayer me torcí el tobillo y sentí un chasquido.
Clinician	Where does it hurt? Can you move the joint?	¿Dónde le duele? ¿Puede mover la articulación?
Patient	It is swollen and bruised, and it hurts when I put weight on it.	Está hinchado y tiene hematomas, y me duele cuando le pongo peso.
Clinician	You may have a sprain, which is a stretched or torn ligament.	Es posible que tenga una torcedura, es decir, un ligamento estirado o roto.
Patient	Is a ligament the same as a tendon?	¿Un ligamento es lo mismo que un tendón?
Clinician	No. A ligament connects bone to bone, and a tendon connects muscle to bone.	No. Un ligamento une un hueso con otro hueso, y un tendón une el músculo con el hueso.
Clinician	I am going to examine your ankle and order an X-ray.	Voy a examinarle el tobillo y a pedirle una radiografía.
Patient	I tore a ligament in my knee two years ago.	Hace dos años me rompí un ligamento de la rodilla.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Ligament
Spanish (Español)	Ligamento
Chinese (中文)	韌帶
Korean (한국어)	인대
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Dây chằng
Filipino (Tagalog)	Ligamento
Portuguese (Português)	Ligamento
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	เอ็นยึด
Japanese (日本語)	靭帯

Where you'll see it

radiology reportchartclinic notesdischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Bones, joints and muscles

All terms in this area: Bones, joints and muscles — Huesos, articulaciones y músculos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.