Dictionary

brace, foot drop See ankle-foot orthosis.

bone, heel See calcaneus.

bone, sesamoid A little bone that is embedded in a joint capsule or tendon; for example, the kneecap (patella).

bone, shin The larger of the two bones in the lower leg. The shin bone is anatomically known as the tibia. Its smaller companion is the fibula.

bone cancer A malignancy of bone. Primary bone cancer (cancer that begins in bone) is rare, but it is not unusual for cancers to metastasize (spread) to bone from other parts of the body, such as the breast, lung, and prostate. The most common type of primary bone cancer is osteosarcoma, which develops in new…

bone cyst, aneurysmal A benign lesion in a bone that contains connective tissue and blood inside a thin bony shell. Aneurysmal bone cysts act like tumors and expand the bone, and they typically occur in the second decade of life. They can affect any bone in the arms, legs, trunk, or skull.

bone cyst, simple A solitary fluid-filled cavity (cyst) in a bone, usually in the shaft of a long bone, especially the humerus, in a child. A simple bone cyst can cause pain in or near the bone. Also known as unicameral bone cyst and solitary bone cyst.

bone density See bone mineral density.

bone marrow The soft blood-forming tissue that fills the cavities of bones and contains fat and immature and mature blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Diseases or drugs that affect the bone marrow can affect the total counts of these cells.

bone marrow aspiration The removal of a small amount of liquid bone marrow through a needle. The needle is placed through the top layer of bone, and a liquid sample containing bone marrow cells is obtained through the needle by sucking (aspirating) it into a syringe. The suction causes pain for a few moments. Bone…

bone marrow biopsy The removal of a sample of bone marrow and a small amount of bone through a large needle. Two samples are taken. The first is bone marrow by aspiration (suction with a syringe). The second is a core biopsy to obtain bone marrow along with bone fibers. After the needle is removed,…

bone marrow transplant A procedure in which diseased or damaged bone marrow is replaced with healthy bone marrow. The bone marrow to be replaced may be deliberately destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Replacement marrow may come from another person, or the patient’s own marrow may be removed and stored before treatment…