Conditions & Disorders of the Skeletal System

1.

Simple

A clean break of the bone with little or no break in the overlying skin.

2.

Greenstick

An incomplete break of the bone in which part of the outer shell (cortex) remains intact.

This occurs particularly in children, who have more flexible bones than adults.

3.

Compound (also known as 'Open')

A broken bone that pierces the overlying skin.

4.

Comminuted

A fracture in which the bone is broken into more than two pieces.

A crushing force is usually responsible and there is extensive injury to surrounding soft tissues is common.

5.

Impacted

A fracture in which the bones involved are driven into each other.

6.

Complicated

A broken bone that also involves damage to other organs - in addition to broken bone(s) and possibly also broken skin.

An example is a broken rib that punctures a lung.

1.

Kyphosis

Excessive outward curvature of the spine, causing hunching of the back.

2.

Lordosis

Inward curvature of the spine.

Some lordosis in the lumbar and cervical regions of the spine is normal. Exaggerated lordosis can occur in adolescence, possibly as a result of faulty posture or due to disease affecting the vertebrae and spinal muscles.

3.

Scoliosis

Lateral (sideways) deviation of the spine.

Scoliosis might be caused by congenital or acquired abnormalities of the vertebrae, muscles, and / or nerves.

Treatment can involve the use of spinal braces and, in cases of severe deformity. surgical correction by fusion or osteotomy.

Condition

Cause

Effect

Arthritis

Over 200 diseases have been said to possibly lead to arthritis, including:

Swelling, warmth, redness of the overlying skin, pain, restriction of motion.

Inflammation of one or more joints

• osteoarthritis
• rheumatoid arthritis
• gout
• tuberculosis, and other infections

Osteo Arthritis

Degenerative joint disease

Osteo-arthritis is due to wear of the articulatory cartilage and can lead to secondary changes in the underlying bone.

It can be primary or occur secondarily to abnormal load to the joint or damage to the cartilage from inflammation or trauma.

The joints are painful and stiff with restricted movement. Osteoarthritis is recognized on X-ray by narrowing of the joint space (due to loss of cartilage) and the presence of osteophytes, osteosclerosis, and cysts in the bone.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

The second most common form of arthritis, after osteo arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease of the synovial lining of joints: The joints are initially painful, swollen, and stiff and are usually affected symmetrically.

Onset can be at any age, and these is considerable risk of severity. Women are at greater risk. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, and most patients show presence of rheumatoid factor in their serum*.

As the disease progresses the ligaments supporting the joints are damaged and there is erosion of the bone, leading to deformity of the joints. Tendon sheaths can be affected, leading to tendon rupture.

Bone Cancer

Bone cancer can occur as a secondary cancer from, for example, prostate cancer

Damage to stem cells (the cause of leukaemia).

Gout

Gout is caused by a defect in uric acid balance in the metabolism resulting in an excess of the acid and its salts (urates) which then accumulate in the bloodstream and joints, respectively.

Gout can result in attacks of acute gouty arthritis, chronic destruction of the joints, and deposits of urates (tophi) in the skin and cartilage - especially of the ears.

The excess urates can also damage the kidneys in which stones might form.

Osteoporosis

Infection, injury and synovitis can cause localized osteoporosis of adjacent bone.

Generalised osteoporosis is common in the elderly and can follow menopause (women). It is also a feature of Cushing's disease and prolonged steroid therapy.

Bones that are brittle and liable to fracture.

Loss of bone tissue.

Rickets

Rickets is a childhood condition caused by insufficient vitamin D and Calcium

Bow legs.

Childhood disease