What does tophus mean?
A tophus is a hard mass formed when crystals accumulate in a joint, tendon, bursa, or nearby soft tissue. The best-known examples occur in chronic gout, in which monosodium urate crystals may become enclosed in firm nodules beneath the skin or around joints. Similar deposits can form in calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, formerly called pseudogout. Although a single tophus may be relatively small, multiple deposits can restrict movement, deform joints, or appear externally. The word is principally used in medical and pathological contexts, so it carries a more technical and clinical tone than the everyday expression gouty lump. Its singular is tophus and its standard plural is tophi, not tophuses. A tophus is medically notable because it represents a visible, organized accumulation of crystals rather than merely temporary inflammation or joint pain.
nounA tophus is a mass of crystalline material deposited in a joint, tendon, bursa, or surrounding soft tissue, typically as a complication of chronic gout or calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease.
- A mass of crystals deposited in a joint, tendon, bursa, or adjacent soft tissue, especially in gout or calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease.
"The scan revealed a small tophus within the patient's knee joint."
"The scan revealed a small tophus within the patient's knee joint."
"Severe chronic gout may produce multiple tophi around the fingers."
Tophi is the standard plural; tophuses is not normally used.
"Several tophi were visible around the patient's knuckles."
Gout can leave chalky souvenirs beneath the skin: crystals of uric acid packed into masses called tophi.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of tophus
Tophus entered English in the early 17th century from Latin tŏphus, meaning a concretion or mass. Latin had borrowed the word from Ancient Greek tóphos, meaning a heap or pile, and the medical sense developed from this physical sense of an accumulated mass. No close English cognate is in common use outside the word's own derived family.
Related word forms
How tophus is actually used
Tophus is specialist medical terminology used chiefly by clinicians and in pathology. It normally refers to a discrete deposit rather than the general process of mineral deposition.
Easily confused with tophus
Tophus is the singular noun, while tophi is its standard plural form.
A torus is a rounded or ring-shaped projection, whereas a tophus is a mass of crystals deposited in tissue.