Todayโs path rounds are on ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ๐, also known as ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ literally means โstone boneโ, and is a condition where the ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ, cells that normally break down bone tissue, are defective. Because of this defect, boney tissue begins to take over the bone marrow cavity.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
Any species can get this!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
Most forms of osteopetrosis seen in our veterinary species are thought to be ๐ข๐ง๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐๐, due to certain breeds being primarily affected. For example, in cattle, osteopetrosis is most commonly seen in Angus.
Ultimately, the genetic defect causing osteopetrosis most often affects the ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฌ or ๐๐ก๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ of the osteoclasts, which are both needed to allow the osteoclast to produce acid. This acid is normally what is used to break down the mineral of the bone to allow the osteoclast to carry out its day-to-day function.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ?
Typically osteopetrosis results in bones that are shorter than normal, and that are very fragile and prone to fracturing. In some cases, the bones may be so fragile that the animal is unable to stand without fracturing a limb. As you can imagine, this is not very conducive to a long and productive life, so these animals are often euthanized.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐๐?
The veterinarian can best diagnose this disease by taking an X-ray, which will show replacement of the normal bone marrow cavity with dense boney tissue.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐?
As mentioned, this disease has a very poor prognosis, and unfortunately there is no treatment.
๐๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ
1) An X-ray of osteopetrosis. Normally you can see a ๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ (grey) area in the middle of each bone.
2) A comparison of a bone with osteopetrosis (bottom) to a normal bone.
3-6) More examples of bones with osteopetrosis!
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
Maxie, G. Jubb, Kennedy and Palmerโs Pathology of Domestic Animals, Volume 1. Sixth Edition.
Photos 1-5 ยฉ Noahโs Arkive contributor Crowell, Nation, Leipold licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
