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