BONE, SWELLING ON

Abstract

This chapter describes the diagnosis of bone swelling. The difficulties of diagnosis lie not only in distinguishing the varieties of bone swelling but also in deciding whether the condition is arising from the bone or not, which may be particularly difficult in the case of inflammatory lesions where there is surrounding edema of soft parts and very little enlargement of the bone itself. If careful palpation fails to reveal alteration in the normal bony contour in a patient where a bone lesion is suspected, then the character of any overlying soft-tissue swelling that may be present will sometimes act as a guide. If present, it involves all layers arising from the deep tissues and radiating more or less symmetrically outward. A central bone lesion will result in swelling of the whole contour of the limb in the area at fault. Pain originating in bone is deep and boring in character and often very intense. In all cases, a radiograph is essential and the differential diagnosis of many of these conditions often resolves itself into a question of interpreting the radiograph.