Antemortem Skeletal Conditions

What percentage of illnesses known to cause skeletal change actually do?

Only 5%-20% of cases.

What is required for positive identification of a decedent in skeletal analysis?

Antemortem records must be available.

What are the atypical skeletal responses to injury or inflammation?

Lytic (Resorption), Blastic (Proliferative), Sclerotic, and Deformative lesions.

What are examples of lytic lesions?

Porotic hyperostosis, necrosis, and Schmorl's nodes.

What are examples of blastic (proliferative) lesions?

Button osteoma and osteophytes.

What is a common deformative lesion associated with skeletal conditions?

Rickets.

What are the primary cells involved in bone remodeling?

Osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

How does the work of one osteoclast compare to osteoblasts?

The work of one osteoclast equals the work of ten osteoblasts.

Why is visual comparison alone insufficient for diagnosing skeletal pathology?

Bone can respond similarly to many different diseases.

What factors should be recorded when identifying skeletal lesions?

Distribution, size, shape, depth or height, texture, density, definition, and margin shape.

What are the broad classes of common variants in skeletal conditions?

Arthropathies, trauma, congenital anomalies, tumors, disease processes, infectious diseases, and noncommunicable diseases.

What is arthropathy?

Any pathological change to joints.

What are two types of arthropathies mentioned?

Osteoarthritis and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH).

What complications can arise from trauma to bones?

Necrosis, infection, deformity due to misalignment, pseudoarthrosis, myositis ossificans, and ankylosis.

What are the two types of dislocations?

Luxation (full displacement) and subluxation (partial displacement).

What are congenital anomalies in skeletal conditions?

Skeletal variants that form before birth due to genetic and/or environmental factors.

What are examples of nonfusion anomalies?

Bipartite patella, spina bifida, metopism, and os triangulare.

What are tumors in the context of skeletal pathology?

New growths, also called neoplasms, that can develop in bone or cartilage.

What are the generalized terms for infections affecting bone?

Osteomyelitis (endosteal infection), osteitis (inflammation of inner structures), and periostitis/periostosis (inflammation of the periosteum).

What are occupational stress markers?

Signs caused by repetitive motion, associated with hard labor, such as enlarged areas of muscle attachment and regions of erosion.

What is osteophytoisis?

The formation of small bony spurs or ridges around articular surfaces, especially in joints.

Osteomyelitis

Endosteal infection

Osteitis

Inflammation of the inner structures of bone

Periostitis/Periostosis

Inflammation of the periosteum