The rupture, tearing, or breaking of a ligament or connective tissue.
From Greek 'desmos' (ligament) + 'rhexis' (rupture, breaking). The '-rhexis' suffix indicates sudden breaking or tearing of tissue.
The suffix '-rhexis' appears in many injury words (hemorrhage, appendiceal rupture)—it comes from the sound of something breaking, which is why medical terms with Greek roots can be surprisingly descriptive of what actually happens.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.