Glossary

Acute disease A disease or condition, the onset of which is sudden, and that can lead rapidly to death, oftentimes before the bone has occasion to react.

Chronic disease A disease or condition that is slowly acting over a considerable period of time. These are the types that most often affect the skeleton.

Disease A lack of well-being (e. g., an infectious disease such as smallpox, alcoholism).

Disorder An abnormal functioning of part of an organism (e. g., a chromosomal disorder, such as Klinefelter’s syndrome, an XXY male).

Dysplasia (dysplastic, adj.) The malformation of bone.

Enthesis A tendinous or ligamentous attachment that is a dynamic entity, having its own blood and nerve supply. There are

Two types based on their structure and location: fibrous, those that attach muscles or ligaments to the metaphyses or diaphyses of bones in adults and to the periosteum in subadults, and fibrocartilaginous, that are found at apophyses and epiphyses of the long and short bones, and that occur between joints of the vertebral column. These attach to the periosteum that surrounds bone via compact fibrous connective tissue. enthesophyte An ossified projection of bone deriving from a tendon or ligament that relates to the increased number of capillaries and consequent change in blood flow that stimulates osteoblasts to lay down a localized deposit of bone that results in an hypertophied insertion site. etiology The cause of disease.

Granuloma (granulomatous, adj.) Newly formed tissue caused by chronic inflammation and made of granulations, which are small masses of formative cells containing loops of newly formed blood vessels that emerge over any lesion as the first step in the healing process. Granulomata or granulomas occur in treponemal disease, tuberculosis, and in dental disease, among others, that are characterized by chronic inflammation. hyperplasia (hyperplastic, adj.) An abnormal increase in the number of cells in a tissue.

Hypoplasia (hypoplastic adj.) An abnormal decrease in the number of cells in a tissue.

Joints The articulations between bones are divided into three classes: synarthroses or immovable, amphiarthroses or slightly movable, and diarthroses or freely movable joints. The diarthrodial joints are covered by a layer of hyaline cartilage, which is composed of 65-80% water, fibrous protein (collagen), proteoglycans (macromolecules found throughout the body consisting of a protein core and at least one and, more often, tens or hundreds of carbohydrate chains), and chondrocytes (cells that produce cartilage), measures between 1 and 5 mm thick. It covers articular surfaces and has no blood or nervous supply and is not connected to the lymphatic system. The cartilage, then, obtains its nutrients directly from the synovial fluid (a lubricant produced by the synovial membrane, which does have a substantial blood supply and is innervated), which surrounds the joint and is supported by capsular ligaments. kyphosis (kyphotic, adj.) An anteroposterior deviation of the spine and vertebral column.

Lesion (lesional, adj.) A term used originally to describe an injury (i. e., insult) to a tissue, but now used generally to describe all disease changes (morbid conditions) to organs and tissues. Lesions may have sharp or rounded margins that relate to the duration of the lesion-forming process. Sharp margins or borders indicate an aggressive or recent occurrence, while rounded margins suggest a more chronic or lengthier period since occurrence. Inactive or well-remodeled lesions are healed, while active new bone formation suggests an active inflammation and infection at the time of death.

Neuropathy A disorder or disease affecting the nervous system. osteophyte (osteophytic, adj.) A projection of ossified bone (spicule), normally used in a general way and especially for describing spondylosis deformans (osteoarthropathies of the vertebral column).

Pathogen A disease-causing organism. passive hyperemia (also venous hyperemia, emia, variant of h(emia) = blood) Decrease in blood flow resulting from blockage or obstruction in the flow of blood from a body part (which results in bone deposition), the opposite of active hyperemia, which results from the increase in organ blood flow that is associated with increased metabolic activity of an organ or tissue (and which tends to be associated with bone resorption). Exercise or functional hyperemia results from the recruitment of muscles in movement.

Sclerosis (sclerotic, adj.) A radiological term used to describe increased density of bone, seen as white (increased radiodensity) on a radiograph.

Prevalence The number of affected individuals out of the total observed, a ratio (used in palaeopathological studies). woven or fiber bone A disorganized, quickly formed, latticelike bone that is similar to that found in infants and is associated with insult to the bone tissue.