Trauma resuscitation begins with securing and maintaining the ABCs: airway, breathing, and circulation. Evaluation of the musculoskeletal system must be deferred to these priorities because when a pat...
Metabolic bone diseases are those in which abnormal formation or maintenance of bone leads to clinical manifestations such as fracture and deformity. Metabolic bone diseases are characterized by faile...
Infections of the bones and joints, although less common than infections in other parts of the body, are nonetheless significant clinical problems. These infections generally fall into three broad cat...
Acute low back pain will affect most adults at least once in their lives, yet nearly all will recover spontaneously, often without a precise diagnosis ever being made. Most back pain is idiopathic, me...
Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that is probably triggered by an antigen and presents as an inflammatory reaction against the synovium in the joi...
Osteoarthritis is a family of degenerative joint diseases characterized by chronic pain, deformity, and progressive physical and psychological disability. Osteoarthritis without an identified cause is...
Shoulder and Arm Bones and Joints The shoulder comprises three bones (the clavicle, scapula, and humerus) and three joints (the glenohumeral, the acromioclavicular [AC], and the scapulothoracic) (Fig....
Inflammation is characterized by erythema, warmth, pain, and edema. Acute inflammation generally occurs in response to an injury or introduction of foreign material at a specific site and is an import...
Skeletal muscle is the single largest tissue mass in the body, constituting 40% to 45% of the dry body weight. Muscles attach to the bones and produce movements or exert static forces. They can be con...
Once thought to be vestigial and functionless, the menisci are now believed to play a critical role in knee biomechanics. The meniscus cushions the proximal tibia from impact, distributes the load of...
