A Case Study on the Skeletal System

Your 80 year-old great aunt, Persis, was placing a canning jar on the top shelf of her pantry when she stepped awkwardly off the stool and twisted her leg at the hip. She felt a sharp pain in her hip and, after collapsing to the floor, found she could no longer stand. She was taken to the emergency room where an X ray showed that the neck of her femur was fractured. More detailed X ray images revealed reduced bone mass in the head and neck regions of the injured femur, in the ends of other long bones of the body and in the vertebrae. Surgery was necessary to repair the fractured femur and a biopsy of the bone tissue indicated that the composition of the osteoid was normal. Healing of the fractured femur is proceeding slowly.

1. What organ(s) is(are) involved? The organ that is involved would be the skeletal system.

2. What primary tissue type is involved? The primary tissue involved is bone tissue.

3. What specific type of tissue is affected? The specific tissue that is affected is the connective tissue.

4. What specific types of cells produce the normal microanatomy of the tissue? The specific cells that produce the normal microanatomy are the osteoblasts.

5a.What is the significance of your great aunt's age and gender? Bone mass decreases with age. The age of the patient means that she has gone through menopause. Estrogen protects bones by inhibiting the activity of osteoclasts. When estrogen levels drop after menopause, osteoclast activity increases.