Clinical Disorders and Diseases of
the Skeletal System
Cleft Palate
• Occurs when the roof of a baby's mouth
doesn't fully develop (palatine bones fail to
fuse) leaving an opening (cleft) in the palate
that may go through to the nasal cavity.
• It is a birth defect that happens during
pregnancy and can affect either the soft or
hard palate.
• Cleft palate is treatable, and surgery is usually
recommended.
Cleft Palate
Vertebral Column: Curvatures
Scoliosis: abnormal lateral curvature of the spine
– Occurs most often in the thoracic region
• Most common during adolescence and girls are more prone
to developing the condition
• If muscles on one side of the body are not functioning
properly, those on the opposite side tug on the spine and
force it out of alignment
Scoliosis
Clinical Conditions
• Osteomalacia
– Literally “soft bones.”
– Includes many disorders in which
osteoid is produced but inadequately
mineralized.
• Causes can include insufficient
dietary calcium
• Insufficient vitamin D fortification or
insufficient exposure to sun light.
• Rickets
– Children's form of osteomalacia
– More detrimental due to the fact
that their bones are still growing.
– Signs include bowed legs, and
deformities of the pelvis, ribs, and
skull.
Clinical Conditions
• Bone loss outpaces
bone regeneration
• Bones weaken and
lose mass
• Bones become brittle
and fractures occur
more often
• Found most often in
women
Age and Bones
Fractures
• A break in the bone
• Simple – bone breaks cleanly
• Compound – the broken bone ends have
broken through the skin
• Greenstick – bone splits and bends, does
not break (seen only in children)
Common fracture types (cont’d)
Common fracture types
• Comminuted fractures
• Spiral fractures
Figure 6–16 (4 of 9)
• Greenstick fracture
Figure 6–16 (7 of 9)
• Compression
fractures
Figure 6–16 (9 of 9)
Depression fracture of the skull
X-ray & MRI
How do they work???
Steps in the Repair of a Fracture
Step 1 –
• Immediately after the fracture, extensive
bleeding occurs.
• A large blood clot, or fracture hematoma,
soon closes off the injured vessels and leaves
a fibrous meshwork in the damaged area.
• The disruption of the circulation kills
osteocytes around the fracture.
• Dead bone soon extends along the shaft.
Steps in the Repair of a Fracture
Step 2 –
• The cells of the endosteum and periosteum
undergo cell division and the daughter cells
migrate into the fracture zone.
• An external callus forms and encircles fracture
• An internal callus organizes within the cavity
and between the broken ends of the shaft
Steps in the Repair of a Fracture
Step 3 –
• Osteoblasts replace the central cartilage of the
external callus with spongy bone
• Calluses form a brace at the fracture site
• Spongy bone now unites the broken ends
• Fragments of dead bone are removed and
replaced
Steps in the Repair of a Fracture
Step 4 –
• Osteoclasts and osteoblasts continue to
remodel the region of the fracture (4 months
to 1 year)
• When remodeling is complete, the bone of
the calluses is gone and only living compact
bone remains.
• The bone could be slightly thicker and
stronger than normal at the fracture site
Fracture repair
Fracture repair (cont’d)
Treatment of a Fracture
• Initial treatment for fractures of arms, legs,
hands, and feet include splinting the extremity
in the position it is found, elevation, and ice.
• Edema (what does this have to do with
splinting and casting?)
• Closed Reduction – manual realignment