A softening of the heart muscle tissue, usually caused by disease or degeneration that reduces the muscle's strength and function.
From cardio- (heart), myo- (muscle), and -malacia (Greek malakia, softness). This 19th-century medical term describes pathological softening of cardiac tissue.
The suffix -malacia appears in many disease names (osteomalacia is soft bones) and comes from the Greek word for a condition where tissues literally lose their firmness and structure.
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