Bone Diseases Flashcards
What is arthritis?
inflammation of joints
What is arthrosis?
non-inflammatory joint disease
what is arthralgia?
joint pain
What is bone and what are its characteristics?
mineralised connective tissue
- load bearing
- self repairing
- dynamic
- adaptable, constantly changing
How long does bone formation take and what are the key components?
3-6 months
- calcium
- phosphate
- vitamin D
Describe the movement of calcium in and out of bone
- calcium store in bone
- some exchangeable calcium
- exchangeable calcium moves from bone to ECF
- calcium absorbed from gut into ECF
- calcium lost through gut and urine
- calcium level in blood precisely maintained
- vital for nerve and muscle function
- bone, ECF and parathyroid hormone
- low dietary calcium causes plasma calcium to fall
- parathyroid hormone increases active Vit D production
- calcium loss from kidneys reduced
- bone loss promoted
- calcium absorbed into ECF to restore plasma level
What is the role of parathyroid hormone in relation to bone?
- maintains serum calcium level
- hormone level raised if calcium levels fall
- increases calcium release from bone
- reduced renal calcium excretion
What is hyperparathyroidism and how does it affect bone?
- increased parathyroid hormone levels
- results in inappropriate activation of osteoclasts
- increased bone resorption
- radiolucencies apparent on radiographs
- primary
- gland dysfunction (tumour)
- high serum calcium
- secondary
- low serum calcium
How is vitamin D produced by the body
- sunlight
- produced by cholecalciferol in the skin
- processed by liver to create active form
- 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol
- dietary
- orange juice, milk, fish
- processed by liver and kidney to create active form
How is vitamin D produced by the body
- sunlight
- produced by cholecalciferol in the skin
- processed by liver to create active form
- 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol
- dietary
- orange juice, milk, fish
- processed by liver and kidney to create active form
What factors can result in low vitamin D?
- low sunlight exposure
- housebound
- dark skin (pigment less efficient at absorption)
- cultural clothing
- poor gastrointestinal absorption
- poor nutrition
- small intestine disease (malabsorption)
- drug interactions
- some anti epileptic drugs
- carbamazepine, phenytoin
- usually a combination of the above factors
What is osteomalacia?
- bone formed normally but not fully calcified resulting in inadequate remineralisation
- poorly mineralised osteoid matrix
- poorly mineralised cartilage growth plate
- bone is soft and pliable, compress under pressure
- bones ache to touch
- due to calcium deficiency
- serum calcium preserved at expense of bone
- called rickets if during bone formation
- bones bend under pressure
- rarely seen now as a result of deficiency
- more common as a result of vitamin D resistance
- called osteomalacia if after bone formation
- vertebral compression
- nerve pain in lower limbs
What is osteoporosis?
- bony matrix and mineralisation are correct but reduced bone mass
- loss of mineral and matrix
- inevitable, age related change
- increased fracture risk
- bones cannot withstand stresses applied
- especially long bones
- wrists are high risk
- hip fracture (increased mortality)
- vertebrae affected
- height loss
- kyphosis (forward bending, vertebral bodies collapse)
- scoliosis (lateral tipping)
- nerve root compression (back pain)
What are the effects of hypocalcaemia?
- muscle weakness
- Trousseau sign (carpal muscle spasm)
- Chvostek sign (facial twitching from CNVII tapping)
What would serology show in an osteomalacia patient?
- decreased serum calcium
- decreased serum phosphate
- very high alkaline phosphatase
- measure of bone turnover
- high when problem with calcium levels
- plasma creatinine
- increased if renal cause
- plasma parathyroid hormone
- increased if secondary hyperparathyroidism