The human skeleton is made of individual or joined bones (such as the skull), supported and supplemented by a structure of ligaments, tendons, muscles, cartilage and other organs.

The skeleton is not unchanging; it changes composition over a lifespan. Early in gestation, a fetus has no hard skeleton; bones form gradually during nine months in the womb. At birth, all bones will have formed, but a newborn baby has more bones than an adult. On average, an adult human has 206 bones (according to Gray's Anatomy, but the number can vary slightly from individual to individual), but a baby is born with approximately 270 bones. The difference comes from a number of small bones that fuse together during growth, such as the sacrum and coccyx of the vertebral column. An infant is born with pockets of cartilage between particular bones to allow further growth. The sacrum (the bone at the base of the spine) consists of five bones which are separated at birth but fuse together into a solid structure in later years. Growing is usually completed between ages 12 and 14, at which point the bones have no pockets of cartilage left to allow more growth.

Not all bones are interconnected directly. There are 6 bones, the auditory ossicles (three on each side), in the middle ear that articulate only with each other. Another bone, the hyoid bone in the neck, does not touch any other bones in the body, and is supported by muscles and ligaments; it serves as the point of attachment for the tongue.

The longest and heaviest bone in the body is the femur and the smallest is the stapes bone in the middle ear. In an adult, the skeleton comprises around 20% of the total body weight.

Petra Mayer (43) saddles her horse and off they go across the field. She holds the reins tight. No more problems with the right arm! Only a short while ago things were very different. For months the Munich media designer thought she would never be able to ride again. During a previous ride, she had an extremely bad fall. "I broke my right collarbone. The pain was so bad, I could hardly move". Her friends took her straight to a medical clinic. The X-ray showed a difficult comminuted fracture. The collarbone required an operation. The surgeons tried to put the single bone pieces as well as the separated broken end pieces back together and inserted a metal plate and 6 screws to stabilize the fracture. Despite all this, the fracture did not heal.

"This was the most difficult time of my life", Petra said. "First they told me, that after 6 weeks the fracture would be healed. Unfortunately this was not the case. I still suffered pain in my right shoulder and could not use my right arm. Everything had to be done with the left arm. The normal day to day routine, such as combing hair, getting dressed and doing the housework started to become impossible. I could not drive the car or ride my horse. I was so desperate; I even had my hair cut short, as I could not groom myself. The surgeons took another x-ray and told me, that despite the metal plate no new bone tissue has been produced. I was told to go slow for another 8 weeks. In the worse case the doctors told me that they would have to operate again. Meantime my right shoulder was totally stiff from having been immobile. At this point I started to look into different alternatives as I was in two minds whether I wanted another operation due to the risks involved.

Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability over the age of 65.

There are many forms of arthritis, each of which has a different cause. Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are autoimmune diseases in which the body is attacking itself. Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection. Gouty arthritis is caused by deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint and subsequent inflammation. The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease and occurs following trauma to the joint, following an infection of the joint or simply as a result of aging. There is emerging evidence that abnormal anatomy may contribute to early development of osteoarthritis.

Contents

• Definition of Osteoarthritis
• Symptoms of and tests for Osteoarthritis
• Types of Arthritis
• Causes of Osteoarthritis
• Treatment of Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis

Prices in Germany are normally 75% below the cost of treatment for Avascular Necrosis in the US and are individually quoted. They include all medical expenses, the hospital stay, surgeon's fees, operation room fees, anesthesia, anesthesiologist's fees, medicine, nursing, semi-private room, meals, and pre-op diagnosis.

• Avascular Necrosis: Definition
• Avascular Necrosis: Causes
• Avascular Necrosis: Presentation
• Avascular Necrosis: Treatment

Avascular Necrosis: Definition

Avascular necrosis is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to the bones. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and causes the bone to collapse. If the process involves the bones near a joint, it often leads to collapse of the joint surface. This disease also is known as osteonecrosis, aseptic necrosis, and ischemic bone necrosis.

Blount's disease (tibia vara) occurs in young children and adolescents. The cause is unknown but is thought to be due to the effects of weight on the growth plate. The inner part of the shin bone, just below the knee, fails to develop normally.

Unlike bowlegs, which tend to straighten as the child develops, Blount's disease slowly gets worse. It can cause severe bowing of one or both legs.

This condition is more common among African-American children. It is also associated with obesity and early walking.

A Coxa vara is the deformity of the hip, whereby the angle between the ball and the shaft of the femur is reduced. This results in the leg being shortened, and therefore a limp occurs. It is commonly caused by injury, such as a fracture. It can also occur when the bone tissue in the neck of the femur is softer than normal, meaning it bends under the weight of the body. This may either be congenital, also known as Mau-Nilsonne Syndrome, or the result of a bone disorder. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, and difficulty in walking. It is diagnosed by an X-ray. In most cases an Osteotomy can ease the condition.

Genu varum or genu varus (Blount's Disease), commonly referred to as bow-leggedness, is a deformity marked by medial angulation of the leg in relation to the thigh, an outward bowing of the legs, giving the appearance of a bow. It is also known as bandy-leg, bowleg, bow-leg, and tibia vara. Usually there is an outward curvature of both femur and tibia, with at times an interior bend of the latter bone.

Prices in Germany are normally 75% below the cost of hand surgery in the US and are individually quoted. They include all medical expenses, the hospital stay, surgeon's fees, operation room fees, anesthesia, anesthesiologist's fees, medicine, nursing, semi-private room, meals, pre-op diagnosis, local phone and English TV.

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
• Dupuytren's Contraction
• Supinatorlogen Syndrome

Prices in Germany are normally 75% below the cost of osteotomy repair in the US and are individually quoted. They include all medical expenses, the hospital stay, surgeon's fees, operation room fees, anesthesia, anesthesiologist's fees, medicine, nursing, semi-private room, meals, pre-op diagnosis, local phone and English TV.

An osteotomy is a surgical operation whereby a bone is cut to shorten, lengthen, or change its alignment. It is sometimes performed on a hallux valgus, or to straighten a bone that has healed crookedly following a fracture. It is also used to correct a Coxa Vara: Definition, Genu Valgum: Definition, Genu Varum: Definition, and Blount's Disease: Definition. The operation is done under a general anaesthetic.

Due to the serious nature of this an osteotomy procedure, recovery times may be extensive. Careful consultation with a physician is important in order to ensure proper planning during a recovery phase. Tools exist to assist recovering patients who may have non weight-bearing requirements and include bedpans, dressing sticks, long-handled shoe-horns, grabbers/reachers and specialized walkers and wheelchairs.