Rheumatology · Primary bone tumors (benign and malignant), soft tissue sarcomas, metastatic bone disease, avascular necrosis, and the age + location + matrix + radiographic pattern diagnostic framework
This file owns primary bone tumors as a diagnostic differential (benign and malignant), soft tissue sarcomas as adult and pediatric entities, metastatic bone disease recognition at the level of 'is this lesion a primary tumor or a metastasis?', and avascular necrosis (AVN) as bone disease with mechanism, imaging, and management. The unifying framework is the age + location + matrix + radiographic pattern integrator: age (peak incidence by tumor type), location within the bone (epiphysis/metaphysis/diaphysis), matrix produced (osseous/chondroid/fibrous), and radiographic pattern (geographic/moth-eaten/permeative; codman triangle, sunburst, onion-skin) converge on a specific diagnosis.
Prerequisites
MSK Anatomy, Histology, Embryology & Joint Biology (long bone anatomy — epiphysis, metaphysis, diaphysis; growth plate biology; periosteum)Bone & Cartilage Biology, Mineral Homeostasis (bone biology — osteoblast vs osteoclast; cortical vs trabecular bone; bone matrix composition with type I collagen + hydroxyapatite; the cartilage-bone unit)Approach to Inflammatory Arthritis & Rheumatoid Arthritis (cross-reference for systemic disease context)Monoarthritis: Crystal Arthropathies, Septic Arthritis & Osteoarthritis (AVN as bone disease in monoarthritis differential — mechanism, MRI imaging, sickle cell association cross-referenced)Metabolic Bone Disease (the metabolic bone disease lab pattern; brown tumors of HPT as primary-tumor mimic; secondary osteosarcoma in Paget's bone)Sickle Cell Disease (sickle cell molecular mechanism with vasoocclusive crisis driving AVN; functional asplenia driving Salmonella osteomyelitis)Plasma Cell Dyscrasias (multiple myeloma as plasma cell dyscrasia with CRAB criteria, SPEP/UPEP, RANKL/DKK1/OAF mechanism)Basic genetics (germline tumor predisposition syndromes — retinoblastoma RB1, Li-Fraumeni TP53, MEN, neurofibromatosis)Basic oncology (TNM staging principle; chemotherapy and radiation principles in soft tissue/bone sarcomas)