Radium jaw, or radium necrosis, is a historic

occupational disease An occupational disease or industrial disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown th ...

brought on by the ingestion and subsequent absorption of

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

into the bones of radium dial painters. It also affected those consuming radium-laden

patent medicines A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

. The condition is similar to phossy jaw, an osteoporotic and osteonecrotic illness of matchgirls, brought on by

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

ingestion and absorption.

Symptoms

The symptoms are

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...

of the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

(lower jawbone) and the

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

(upper jaw), constant bleeding of the gums, and (usually) after some time, severe distortion due to bone tumors and

porosity Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

of the lower jaw. Symptoms also include soreness throughout the body, significant decrease in body weight and loss of teeth.

Treatment

Once the symptoms of radium jaw take effect, there is nothing that can be done to reduce the chance of death.

Radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

can cause fatal injuries due to radium and calcium sharing similar chemistry, causing the body to unintentionally incorporate the radioactive metal into bone tissue in place of calcium. This is significant, because while calcium strengthens bone structures, radium degrades the quality of said bone structure. Alpha particles emitted by the radium lead to bone

and

bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

History

At the start of the 20th century, many believed that radium had beneficial health properties and it was often added to consumer products such as toothpaste, hair creams, and even food. Used until the early 1970s, radium was found in some consumer paints, dials on clocks and some industrial applications. Radium was also used in some medical practices during the 20th century. The disease was determined by

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Dr. H.S. Martland in 1924 to be symptomatic of radium paint ingestion, after many female workers from various radium paint companies reported similar dental and mandibular pain. The first written reference to the disease was by a dentist, Dr. Theodor Blum, in 1924, who described an unusual mandibular

osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis (OM) is the infectious inflammation of bone marrow. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The feet, spine, and hips are the most commonly involved bones in adults. The cause is ...

in a dial painter, naming it "radium jaw". Symptoms were present in the mouth due to use of the lips and tongue to keep the radium-paint paintbrushes properly shaped. The disease was the main reason for litigation against the

United States Radium Corporation The United States Radium Corporation was a company, most notorious for its operations between the years 1917 to 1926 in Orange, New Jersey, in the United States that led to stronger worker protection laws. After initial success in developing a g ...

by the

Radium Girls The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting radium dials – watch dials and hands with radioluminescence, self-luminous paint. The incidents occurred at three factories in the United States: one ...

, female factory workers who contracted illnesses due to radium exposure from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint in the early 20th century. A prominent example of this condition was the death of American golfer and industrialist Eben Byers in 1932, after taking large doses of Radithor, a radioactive patent medicine containing radium, over several years. His illness garnered much publicity, and brought the problem of radioactive quack medicines into the public eye. Stories such as that of the Radium Girls and Eben Byers's death went public and due to public pressure and outrage, the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

banned most radiation-based

in 1932.

References

External links

Radium in Humans: A Review of U.S. Studies
{{Occupational safety and health Occupational diseases Radium Osteonecrosis

Symptoms

Treatment

History

See also

References

External links