Mr. DeRosa's Science Class

Skin & Skeletal problems

 

We'll take a look at some problems that people can have withtheir skin & skeletal systems.  We'll take a look at Skin Cancer, as well as differentiate between different types of broken bones, and some other skeletal issues.

Let's take a look at skin...

• Benign tumors such as warts and moles are not serious.

• Malignant tumors can start on the skin and invade other body areas.

• Crucial risk factor - overexposure to UV radiation.

  • Basal cell carcinoma

    • most common, 30% of all white skin people get it.

    • Arises from the stratum basale layer of the skin

    • 99% curable if caught early

    • Dome shaped nodules that form an ulcer in the center.

  • Squamous cell carcinoma

    • Small red rounded elevation on the skin

    • Grows rapidly and metastasizes (spreads) if not removed

    • Arise from stratum spinosum

  • Melanoma

    • Cancer of melanocytes (very dangerous)

    • 5% of skin cancers but rising fast

    • Can arise from preexisting moles

    • Appears as a spreading brown or black patch

    • Chance of survival is poor if the lesion is greate than 4 mm thick

      • ABCD Rule Used for recognizing melanoma

        • A - Asymmetry:  sides of pigmented mole do not match

        • B - Border: borders are not smooth

        • C - Color: lesion has multiple colors

        • D - Diameter: larger than 6 mm in diamete
          (size of a pencil eraser)

• Burns can range from an inconvenience to life threatening

• Burns may cause

  • Catastrophic loss of body fluids

  • Dehydration and fatal circulatory shock

  • Infection

  • Skin Cancer

• There are 3 Types of Burns

  • First-degree

    • epidermis damaged

    • redness, swelling, pain (e.g. sunburn)

    • 2-3 days to heal

  • Second-degree

    • epidermis and upper layers of dermis damaged

    • blistering can occur

    • 3-4 weeks to heal

  • Third-degree

    • affects entire thickness of skin:

      • epidermis

      • dermis

      • into hypodermis

         

• Burns

• Cancer

Critical burns requires immediate medical attention.

These burns are potentially life threatening, disfiguring, and disabling.

Critical Burns

• More than 25% of the body has second-degree burns

• More than 10% of the body has third-degree burns

• Third-degree burns on face, hands, or feet

Let's take a look at the skeleton...

• Fractures - Broken Bones

Types of bone fractures

• Closed (simple) fracture

  • break does not penetrate the skin

• Open (compound) fracture 

  • broken bone penetrates through the skin

 

• Bone fractures are treated by reduction and immobilization

• Realignment of the bone

A sprain, also known known as torn ligament, is damage to one or more ligaments in a joint, often caused by trauma or the joint being taken beyond its functional range of motion.

The severity of sprain ranges from a minor injury which resolves in a few days to a major rupture of one or more ligaments requiring surgical fixation and a period of immobilisation.

Sprains can occur in any joint but are most common in the ankle and wrist.

• Pain is equal to that of a fracture

• Sprains - Broken Bones

• a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D.Bone is broken down faster than it can be built

• Osteoporosis "Brittle Bones"

• Tend to fracture easily

• Risk factors for osteoporosis

• Inadequate calcium

• Little weight-bearing exercise

• Drinking alcohol, smoking

• Being female: decreased estrogen secretion after menopause

• Small frame

• Caucasian or Asian ethnicity

• softening of the bones, typically through a deficiency of vitamin D or calcium.

• Lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate

• Affects children ages 6-24 months

• Leads to bowlegs

• Osteomalacia (Rickets):

• May spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body

• Bone Cancer:

  • Ewing’s sarcoma

  • Osteosarcoma

  • Chondrosarcoma

• Curvature of the spine

• Usually occurs during the growth spurt just prior to puberty

• Cause is unknown

• Scoliosis

Dislocation is an injury to a joint — a place where two or more of your bones come together — in which the ends of your bones are forced from their normal positions. This painful injury temporarily deforms and immobilizes your joint.

 

• Dislocation

The inflammation of a bursa, typically one in the knee, elbow or shoulder.

 

• Bursitis

• Painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.

• Several Types

  • Osteoarthritis

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis

  • Fibromyalgia

  • Gout

 

 

"Cracking" your knucles does not cause arthritis.

• Arthritis