Paget's disease of bone

A chronic disorder of bone remodeling in which excessive breakdown and disorganized rebuilding produce enlarged, weakened, and misshapen bones.

Osteoclast: A bone-resorbing cell that breaks down mineralized bone tissue. Overactive osteoclasts initiate the excessive bone breakdown characteristic of the disease.
Alkaline phosphatase: An enzyme associated with bone formation and other biological processes. Blood levels often rise when Pagetic bone formation is extensive.
James Paget: An English surgeon and pathologist who described several diseases in the nineteenth century. His 1877 account established the disorder later named after him.
Osteoporosis: A skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mass and increased fracture risk. Both weaken bone, but osteoporosis usually reduces bone quantity rather than causing focal enlargement.
Osteoblast: A cell that forms new bone by producing and mineralizing bone matrix. Osteoblasts respond to resorption by building replacement bone in a disorganized pattern.
Bone scintigraphy: A nuclear imaging test that reveals areas of increased bone metabolism. It maps active disease and can show its extent before symptoms appear.
John Hunter: An eighteenth-century Scottish surgeon and anatomist who studied bone growth and disease. His preserved specimens helped document skeletal changes associated with the disorder.
Osteopetrosis: A group of inherited disorders in which bones become abnormally dense because resorption is impaired. It contrasts with Paget's excessive remodeling through reduced osteoclast function and dense bone.
Bone remodeling: The continuous process by which old bone is resorbed and new bone is formed. Paget's disease disrupts this normal cycle, accelerating both breakdown and rebuilding.
Radiography: Imaging that uses X-rays to show internal structures, including bones. Characteristic changes such as bone expansion and cortical thickening support diagnosis.

Linked from 7 pages

OsteomalaciaCompared with: It alters bone architecture through abnormal turnover rather than generalized mineralization failure.