Eburnation is a degenerative process of bone commonly found in patients with

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

or non-union of

fractures Fracture is the appearance of a crack or complete separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress (mechanics), stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacemen ...

. Friction in the joint causes the reactive conversion of the sub-chondral bone to an ivory-like surface at the site of the cartilage erosion. The word derives from Latin '' eburneus'', which means "of ivory". Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the joints characterized largely by central loss of cartilage and compensatory peripheral bone formation (

osteophyte Osteophytes are Exostosis, exostoses (bony projections) that form along joint margins. They are distinct from enthesophytes, which are bone, bony projections that form at the attachment of a tendon or ligament. Osteophytes are not always distingui ...

s). Cameron and Macnab determined that "corrosive wear and abrasive wear play a part in producing eburnation. Laiger observed that eburnation can result from both osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at an advanced stage. They stated that while RA and ochronotic arthropathy have different processes, both may result in similar eburnation patterns. Over time, as the cartilage wears away, bare, subchondral bone is revealed. Eburnation describes the bony sclerosis which occurs at the areas of cartilage loss.

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Primary osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis
Skeletal disorders {{musculoskeletal-disease-stub