Spinal Infection Etiology Spinal infection is a multicausal disease. The three most common are hematogenous spread, direct spread, and direct inoculation, which is usually iatrogenic. Arterial hematogenous spread can be due to an infectious focus anywhere in the body. This…
Osteomyelitis is infection of bone or bone marrow. It is usually caused by bacterial infection, less frequently by viruses and fungi and, rarely, parasites. It is subdivided into acute, subacute, and chronic stages, depending on the clinical presentation, which, in…
Infections of the soft tissues range clinically from indolent, low-grade conditions to fulminant disease that may be life-threatening within a matter of hours. A wide range of organisms can produce an infection, although there are common culprits. Clinical confusion may…
Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis Introduction Etiology Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a benign proliferative synovial disorder that can occur in a diffuse or localized form and in both intraarticular and extraarticular locations. Although PVNS typically occurs diffusely within a joint, nodular…
Neuropathy results from functional abnormalities or structural insults to the axons (sensory, motor, or combined), the myelin, or both. The insensate neuropathic joint is liable to arthrosis, fractures, alignment deformities, abnormal function, ulcer, and infection. Predilection for skeletal location is…
A number of crystals are associated with joint disease ( Fig. 61-1 ). The major culprits are calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) and hydroxyapatite (HA), a basic calcium phosphate (BCP). The focus in this chapter is on the disorders associated with…
Etiology Gout is a disease with manifestations relating directly from the deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals or uric acid from hyperuricemic body fluids. In humans, urate is a nonmetabolized byproduct of purine metabolism and is excreted via the kidneys…
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), a term proposed by Resnick is the widely accepted name describing a common disorder affecting mostly elderly persons and characterized by increased bone formation at multiple sites in the spine and peripheral skeleton. Although the…
Etiology Ochronosis is the bluish-black discoloration that can be seen in connective tissues of patients with alkaptonuria, a rare disorder caused by the absence of homogentisic acid (HGA) oxidase. The absence of this enzyme causes a buildup of HGA in…
Hemochromatosis was first described by French physician Armand Trousseau in 1865. The major finding was the presence of a triad associating cirrhosis and diabetes in a tanned man. Von Recklinghausen reported, in 1889, the presence of strong iron deposits within…