CARTILAGINOUS EXOSTOSIS OF THE SCAPULA

Abstract

Osseous growths capped by a layer of hyaline cartilage frequently occur about the epiphyses of long bones but also occasionally in flat bones. They are usually multiple and are believed to originate from misplaced islets of epiphyseal cartilage and thus appear during skeletal development and cease growing when the latter is completed. A solitary cartilaginous exostosis of the scapula with no growths elsewhere is rare. A review of the available literature yielded records of less than twenty instances. In this article two cases recently observed in the New Haven Hospital are reported. REPORT OF CASES Case 1. —A Negro boy aged 7 years was admitted to the New Haven Hospital on March 13, 1928, with the complaint of prominence of the left scapular region. According to the mother this was first noted when the child was 4 years old. Since then the deformity has increased slightly and caused some pain