Periostitis, also known as periostalgia, is a medical condition caused by
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...
of the
periosteum
The periosteum is a membrane that covers the outer surface of all bones, except at the articular surfaces (i.e. the parts within a joint space) of long bones. Endosteum lines the inner surface of the medullary cavity of all long bones.
Structu ...
, a layer of
connective tissue
Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...
that surrounds bone.
The condition is generally chronic, and is marked by tenderness and swelling of the bone and pain.
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Causes
Acute periostitis is due to
infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...
, characterized by diffuse formation of pus, severe pain, constitutional symptoms, and usually results in
necrosis
Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated diges ...
. It can be caused by excessive physical activity as well, as in the case of
medial tibial stress syndrome (also referred to as tibial periostalgia, soleus periostalgia, or shin splints). Congenital infection with syphilis can also cause periostitis in newborn infants.
History
Evidence for periostitis found in the fossil record is studied by
paleopathologists, specialists in ancient disease and injury. Periostitis has been seen in the late Cretaceous-Eocene crocodile ''
Borealosuchus formidabilis'', once known as ''
Leidyosuchus
''Leidyosuchus'' (meaning " Leidy's crocodile") is an extinct genus of alligatoroid from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. It was named in 1907 by Lawrence Lambe, and the type species is ''L. canadensis''. It is known from a number of specimens fro ...
''. In one study, periostitis was the most common pathology in this species, with 134 instances of the condition out of 7,154 bones the scientists examined showing evidence for the condition. Periostitis has also been documented in dinosaurs, including a forelimb referred to the
long-necked ''
Camarasaurus grandis
''Camarasaurus grandis'' is an extinct species of sauropod dinosaur in the genus that lived during the Jurassic in what is now the western United States. It is the geologically oldest of the four species of the genus ''Camarasaurus''.
Taxonomy
' ...
'', as well as the shoulder blade of a
horned dinosaur.
See also
*
Periosteal reaction
References
External links
{{Osteochondropathy
Osteopathies