This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Pathology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The infection may remain focussed in a discrete region, or more commonly spread along the shaft of a long bone.

Necrotic bone is found in cavities - sequestrum - containing pus and walled of with vascular tissue and sclerotic new bone - involucrum.

The sequestrum acts as a haven for bacteria, permitting continued infection until the bone is passed through a draining sinus or removed surgically.

The infection may follow a relapsing and remitting course; the sinuses may close off for weeks or months, only to reopen as pus reaccumulates.

The sclerotic involucrum is more brittle than normal bone and is liable to pathological fractures.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page