Question
Dear Rusty,

I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me what the following medical terms mean and what might be done about them:

- poly-arthritis
- proximal tibis
- morbus paget
- osteomyelitis

Thank you very much for your time and effort.

Jeroen.

Answer
Jeroen,

Sorry I was unable to get back to you yesterday. The answer to your question is a little more involved than most and I was pressed for time yesterday.

Polyartritis simple means that there are multiple joints involved. Rheumatoid arthritis is a Polyartritis in that it effects many joints.

The tibia is the larger of the  two bones between the ankle and the knee. Proximal means the end closest to the trunk of the body.

Morbus paget is a term that I am not familiar with. A 19th century surgeon discovered two diseases one was paget's disease of the bone and paget's disease of the breast. Morbus paget is a another name for paget's disease of the breast.

Osteomyelitis is an acute or chronic bone infection, usually caused by bacteria. The infection that causes Osteomyelitis often is in another part of the body and spreads to the bone via the blood. Affected bone may have been predisposed to infection because of recent trauma.

As for what can be done for them that is a difficult question. I am confused at how morbus paget figures in with the other three. I am not familiar with treatments for this condition. The treatment for polyarthritis depends on the type of arthritis effecting multiple joints. Osteomyelitis is treated with antibiotics. Many times it is treated with Intravenous antibiotics. If the disease becomes serious and bone death becomes involved then some times surgery is required to remove dead bone tissue.

I hope this information is helpful.