It would seem that bones and skeleton are the most durable component of the human body. But in fact, bone tissue is also prone to disease, like any other. Benign bone tumors are one of the problems that can appear at any age.
Support
Strangely enough, the human skeleton is a passive part of the musculoskeletal system. After all, the bones, which are about 300 in the baby’s body, and 207 in an adult’s body, are interconnected by joints, ligaments, muscles, specially designed for this purpose, and they perform only supporting and protective functions, while it is the connecting elements and the nervous system that make the person move . Benign bone tumors are one of the problems that can disrupt the functionality of this system, causing pain, discomfort and a violation of the quality of life.
The strongest fabric
Bone tissue is actually a complex structure. It is multi-layered and multi-functional. The main component of this dense connective structure is bone tissue. But the bones themselves are diverse in terms of functionality, size, and composition. They include the brain, endosteum, nerves, cartilage, periosteum, blood vessels. Bone tissue contains various cells:
- osteoblasts perform bone mineralization;
- osteocytes have the ability to maintain bone structure;
- osteoclasts are responsible for bone resorption, that is, its destruction.
Also, bone in its entirety contains collagen and minerals. The bone structure is porous, certain areas are called spongy bone, there are tubular bones, hollow. This structure of the bones allows them to be light and strong, to perform various functions: from supporting-mechanical to producing red and white blood cells. Any disease of the skeletal system should be diagnosed by detecting the type of tissue affected by the disease or injury. So, if there is a neoplasm, for example, on the head, then an X-ray of the skull in 2 projections will help determine the pathology. This allows you to more accurately determine the size of the neoplasms, their localization, condition of the bones.
Bone Neoplasms
Each person in his life faced a situation when a lump appeared on his head. In most cases, this happened after a bruise, dysfunction of the sebaceous glands, with the formation of the so-called wen. Such formations do not affect bone tissue, violating only the soft integument. But bones are also prone to the formation of tumors, like any other body tissue. Bone neoplasms, like any others that can appear in the human body, are benign and malignant.
Science still does not understand the mechanisms of triggering their growth, the causes of cell transformation. It has already been established that damage to the DNA of a cell, its genetic material, is the basis for changes leading to the formation of a tumor. This leads to a change in the mechanisms of control of cell division and apoptosis. Scientists have identified factors that potentiate the launch of tumor formation:
- biological factors, in most cases viruses, for example, it is proved that human papillomavirus causes cancer of the cervix, vulva, and oral cavity;
- mechanical factors such as injuries, damage;
- prolonged exposure to high temperatures;
- impaired functional immune system;
- impaired functional endocrine system;
- physical factors, for example ionizing radiation, ultraviolet;
- chemical factors, in particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other chemical substances of aromatic nature that react with DNA of cells, causing damage to the cell structure and processes.
Undoubtedly, the causes and mechanisms of changes in the cellular structure that cause the appearance of neoplasms, including benign bone tumors, are constantly being studied and systematized, which helps to find new methods of treatment for such health problems.
After a bruise
Most often, a person encounters tumors that appear as a result of a bruise. For example, a bump on the elbow after hitting this part of the hand on a hard surface is very painful. Formations such as a bump after a bruise appear in places where the subcutaneous fat is very thin or completely absent. This will be the elbow, and the scalp, and the forehead, and the front side of the lower leg, and the patella. A feature of the elbow and patella is the presence of a special articular bag filled with mucus, providing adequate joint functionality.
The structure of the elbow also has a particularly traumatic structure - the ulnar process, the most mobile and poorly protected part of the elbow joint. Therefore, a bump on the elbow resulting from injury is a common problem. Such a formation in most cases is basically traumatized by the vascular system and mucous membrane of the bag and is called bursitis. The bone is affected by the neoplasm if the injury is very massive or the bruise has inflamed and the inflammation has spread to the bone tissue. In any case, trauma and tumor formation will require consultation with a specialist.
The same applies to those cases if a lump appeared on the head after a bruise. In addition to the possibility of inflammation, head injuries are dangerous with concussion. But for bone tissue, neoplasms affecting its very structure are especially problematic, in order to establish the cause and nature of the tumor, careful diagnosis and differentiation according to the oncological sign is necessary.
Osteoma
Benign tumors often manifest as an osteoma. What it is? This neoplasm, most often defined in the diaphysis and metaphysis of the long tubular bones and on the bones of the cranial vault. Such tumors are divided into three types:
- spongy osteoma;
- solid osteoma, the body of which consists of solid plates of bone tissue having a concentric shape and located parallel to the base of the formation;
- cerebral osteoma, a formation having cavities filled with medulla;
So if a lump appears on the head, then the specialist can make a conclusion about a bone formation called an osteoma. Such a neoplasm is diagnosed with the help of an X-ray examination and a clinical picture of the course of the disease. A tumor often does not cause much discomfort, and therefore it can only be detected by chance.
Answering the question: “Osteoma - what is it?”, It should be said that there are no cases of malignancy, that is, transformation into a malignant tumor, of this bone benign neoplasm. Osteoma treatment is carried out only in case of deterioration in the patient's quality of life, soreness or large tumor size. Treatment is only surgical, with removal of the tumor. Observations showed that after the intervention, relapses of the disease are very rare.
Osteoid osteoma
One of the varieties of a disease such as osteoma of the femur or other long bones is osteoid osteoma. It often develops in young people 20-30 years old of both sexes. This is a rather unusual neoplasm of the skeletal system with its own histology. It is localized in the diaphysis of the tubular bones, in the flat bones and has a characteristic course. In the initial stage of tumor development, the patient develops quite strong painful sensations resembling muscle pain.
Over time, this symptom becomes more local, and it can be relieved by taking analgesic drugs. To a large extent, pain with osteoid osteoma worsens at night. If the tumor is located in the bones of one of the lower extremities, then lameness appears due to the patient's inability to strain his leg. If this type of bone tumor forms on the bones of the spine, then the patient develops scoliosis due to the pain of formation and the desire to alleviate pain by changing the location of the body.
Such a neoplasm can be located on the surface of the bone - in the bone cortical layer or somewhat deeper - medullary, subperiosteal or intracapsular. Its structure has a concentric pattern:
- nidus (tumor nest) is equipped with a network of dilated blood vessels, osteoblasts, as well as osteoid material and the so-called bone beams, which are immature bone tissue. Also in the tumor in the x-ray, you can observe the central zone of mineralization;
- fibrovascular ring;
- zone of reactive sclerosis.
The central part of the tumor - nidus - produces prostaglandins that cause pain. In order to completely get rid of such a bone formation, it is necessary to carry out an operation to remove the lesion. You also need to remove a thin layer of sclerotic bone adjacent to the tumor. Such a well-conducted intervention leads to a complete recovery. But if the tumor is partially removed, then this will cause a relapse in the growth of osteoid osteoma. There are no cases of degeneration of this type of tumor into a malignant formation.
Osteoblastoclastoma
There are tumors affecting the skeletal system, similar in their manifestation, but different in structure. These are neoplasms such as osteoma and osteoblastoma, or, as the latter is also called, osteoblastoclastoma. Experts consider such a neoplasm to be semi-malignant, because in many cases, as a result of inadequate therapy, the neoplasm is malignant, giving frequent relapses and metastases. Such a tumor is of three types:
- the cellular structure is in the form of cells with incomplete bone bridges;
- cystic - the existing cavity in the bone is filled with brown exudate. This makes the tumor look like a cyst;
- lytic with a changed bone pattern due to the destructive effect of the neoplasm.
In some cases, a hand bone tumor is just osteoblastoma. A frequent location of such a neoplasm is the upper metaphysis of the humerus, the lower metaphysis of the thigh, fibula, tibia.
Like many diseases, the formation of this type of bone tumor in the first stage does not give any external manifestations. Only after about three months does soreness and skin hyperemia appear at the location of the osteoblastoclastoma. If such a place is injured, then the pain intensifies. Pathological fractures at its location are also characteristic of this type of tumor.
Osteoblastoclastoma is treated with surgery or x-ray. The latter method is most often used for the vertebral location of the tumor with a preliminary analysis of its nature. Surgical treatment can be either palliative or radical. The removal of the internal contents of the bone by the method of exochleation is carried out only if the benign nature of the neoplasm is precisely established. Resection is used both in conjunction with transplant replacement, and without replacing the removed bone or its site.
Hemangioma
It happens that a person from birth has an education on the skin that has a red color and resembles a big fresh bruise - this is a hemangioma. But sometimes such a tumor also forms in the bones. It can be located in the spine, in the flat and tubular bones of the human skeleton. This is a fairly rare type of bone tumor that can affect both men and women equally. In the bones, such a neoplasm is a sinus that communicates with bone capillaries.
There are a lot of them, they grow and multiply, pushing apart and crowding the bone elements that undergo osteoclastic destruction and a few reactive restoration of bone beams. Most often, bone hemangioma is located in the vertebrae or in the flat bones of the skull, in which there are blood channels. So if there is a lump on the head behind the skull, the specialist after the examination can make a diagnosis of "bone hemangioma."
Such a benign tumor is most often treated conservatively, since surgical intervention to remove it is fraught with heavy bleeding. For the same reason, a biopsy through a puncture is not performed for this type of tumor. Treatment in most cases has a good prognosis, since hemangioma does not degenerate into a malignant formation. But it should be remembered that bone hemangioma therapy will be quite long. If the tumor is located in the vertebrae for a long time, then soft tissue overgrowth is possible, which can cause rarefaction and partial destruction of the vertebrae.
Bone hemangioma can exist for more than one year in the patient’s body, causing minor local pains that appear only with prolonged, uniform body position, for example, when walking or sitting. Such a neighborhood threatens the spinal column with sclerosis of the vertebrae affected by hemangioma and their compression. Treatment in most cases is symptomatic, aimed at reducing pain and unloading the spine. But with compression of the vertebrae the patient undergoes a laminectomy (removal of the arch of the vertebra or part of it).
Exostosis
Another type of benign tumor is bone-cartilage exostosis. This skeletal problem is observed in children and adolescents, although older people may also experience this health complication. Superficial overgrowth of a bone or cartilage can be triggered by a trauma, frequent bruises or other factors; cases of congenital exostoses, for example, in the oral cavity, are also recorded. However, science still cannot fully explain the reason for the appearance of such bone-cartilaginous formations. Neoplasms can be either single or multiple.
Often formed in the metaphyses of long tubular bones as a result of the abnormal development of the epiphyseal cartilage, which does not grow along the axis of the bone, but to the side. If such an education occurred in childhood, then with the cessation of the growth of the child, the growth of the tumor also stops. Bone-cartilage exostosis during palpation is manifested as a motionless, dense formation of a smooth or tuberous structure.
Such formations may be different in size. In some cases, bones affected by exostosis become curved or lag behind in growth. A tumor can interfere with the adequate functionality of nearby organs - muscles, blood vessels, nerves. It is in these cases that treatment is especially necessary, which in the vast majority of cases is carried out with the help of surgical intervention.
Chondromyxoid fibroma
Benign bone tumors - neoplasms that are different in structure and nature of development. One of the rather rare such neoplasms is chondromyxoid fibroma. In its location and effect on the bone, it is similar to chondroblastoma. Often, such tumors appear in long tubular bones, while the cortical layer of bone tissue is thinned and swollen, which forms a visible tumor. Chondromyxoid fibroma most often affects people under the age of 30 years.
At the initial stage of development, this type of neoplasm is asymptomatic for a long time, and is often detected only with an accidental x-ray examination. In the picture, fibroma is visible in the form of a focus of destruction, against which a trabecular pattern and petrificates are visible - focal deposits of calcium salts. This type of tumor is treated with the help of excociation and bone replacement with a graft.
Osteochondroma
A benign bone tumor that can develop in humans more often than all other similar neoplasms is called osteochondroma. This tumor is formed from cartilage cells and is a transparent mass. More often young people from 10 to 25 years old get sick, and in many cases this tumor is a hereditary problem. The osteochondroma of the rib, clavicle, thigh, and other bones is a cavity of the outer thin cartilage layer with spongy bone tissue filled with bone marrow mass.
Such a formation can grow to impressive sizes, as well as be single and multiple. In rare cases, such a tumor is able to affect the spine, joints of the fingers. But the chondroma of the head has never been fixed. A small osteochondroma does not bring any discomfort to a person. But its growth can cause both pain and discomfort, as well as disruption of the muscles and blood vessels.
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