Tendonitis is inflammation of which tissue?

• A. Bone
• B. Muscle
• C. Nerve
• D. Tendon

Answer: (D)

When a condition name ends with -itis, it points to inflammation of the tissue named before it. Tendonitis, then, means inflammation of a tendon. A tendon is the tissue that connects muscle to bone and helps transmit force when you move. So the tissue involved is the tendon. Other tissues have their own -itis terms—bone would be osteitis, muscle would be myositis, and nerves would be neuritis—so the specific tissue in tendonitis is the tendon.