Musculoskeletal Disorders

Abstract

Although some bone lesions have a purely local pathology, disorders of the skeleton, as of the skin, frequently reflect a more widespread pathological process. In some deformities, such as those caused by infantile rickets, the systemic disorder is a thing of the past, the only remaining evidence being skeletal changes. On the other hand, a primary bone disease may give rise to systemic effects; for example, extensive Paget’s disease of bone can cause a profound hemodynamic disturbance leading to high-output congestive cardiac failure. Excluding malignant tumors, skeletal disorders that are not part of a primary systemic disease would usually have little effect by themselves on longevity unless there was anatomical interference with vital structures, such as pressure effects on nervous tissue or on the heart or lungs.