Case: Bone & joint disease radiograph #3741662
Bone & joint disease Intermediate
Read this radiograph systematically before revealing the answer. What is the main abnormality?
Image: The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · source · resized and converted to WebP
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Answer: Bone metastases
What to look for in bone metastases
- Lytic (destructive), sclerotic (dense) or mixed lesions, often multiple.
- Typical sites are red-marrow areas: spine, pelvis, ribs, skull and proximal long bones.
- A missing pedicle on the spine AP view ('winking owl') is a classic sign; check for pathological fracture.
Description by the image author (may be in another language): ADRENAL GLAND: WIDELY METASTATIC NEUROBLASTOMA IN A 4-YEAR-OLD BOY The bony metastases seen here (A and B) involve predominantly the metaphyses of upper tibia and lower femur on both sides.
Educational case. The diagnosis comes from the image's documented source; the "what to look for" list describes the condition in general and is not a report of this individual image.
