Avascular necrosis (also osteonecrosis, aseptic (bone) necrosis, ischemic bone necrosis, and AVN) is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to an area of bone. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses. If avascular necrosis involves the bones of a joint, it often leads to destruction of the joint articular surfaces (see Osteochondritis dissecans).
There are many theories about what causes av...
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Avascular necrosis (also osteonecrosis, aseptic (bone) necrosis, ischemic bone necrosis, and AVN) is a disease resulting from the temporary or permanent loss of the blood supply to an area of bone. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses. If avascular necrosis involves the bones of a joint, it often leads to destruction of the joint articular surfaces (see Osteochondritis dissecans).
There are many theories about what causes avascular necrosis. Proposed risk factors include alcoholism, excessive steroid use, post trauma, caisson disease (decompression sickness), vascular compression, hypertension, vasculitis, thrombosis, damage from radiation, bisphosphonates (particularly the mandible), sickle cell anaemia, and Gaucher's Disease. In some cases it is idiopathic (no cause is found). Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are also common causes of AVN. Prolonged, repeated exposure to high pressures (as experienced by commercial and military divers) has been linked to AVN,...
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