What is the name of House’s cane-associated muscle injury in House M.D.?

Gregory House suffered a quadriceps muscle infarction in House M.D.

The infarction damaged muscle in House’s right thigh after a blood clot blocked circulation. Doctors removed dead tissue, but the resulting injury left him with chronic pain and an altered gait. House uses a cane and takes Vicodin to manage the continuing pain associated with the damage.

The condition is unusual because an infarction is more commonly associated with organs such as the heart or brain. In House’s case, muscle tissue was deprived of blood supply. The show presents this injury as a central part of his character rather than a passing medical detail: it influences his dependence on medication, his irritability, and his refusal to accept ordinary limitations.

The injury is sometimes loosely described as a leg infarction or muscle death. The specific diagnosis in the series is quadriceps muscle infarction, affecting the right thigh. It is not a congenital disability, and the cane is not merely a visual character accessory.