Myositis is an inflammation or swelling of the muscles. It is usually caused by injury, infection, medicines, or an autoimmune disorder .
An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake. There are more than 80 types of aut...
Greenberg SA. Inflammatory myopathies. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine . 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:chap 269.
Myositis. Dorland's Online Medical Dictionary. Available at: www.dorlands.com//def.jsp?id=100069810. Accessed May 28, 2015.
Review Date: 4/28/2015
Reviewed By: Gordon A. Starkebaum, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.