Osteomalacia

Osteomalacia term for the softening of the bones due to defective bone mineralization. Osteomalacia in children is known as rickets, and because of this, use of the term osteomalacia is often restricted to the milder, adult form of the disease. It may show signs as diffuse body pains, muscle weakness, and fragility of the bones. A common cause of the disease is a deficiency in vitamin D, which is normally obtained from the diet and/or sunlight ex... more

Osteomalacia term for the softening of the bones due to defective bone mineralization. Osteomalacia in children is known as rickets, and because of this, use of the term osteomalacia is often restricted to the milder, adult form of the disease. It may show signs as diffuse body pains, muscle weakness, and fragility of the bones. A common cause of the disease is a deficiency in vitamin D, which is normally obtained from the diet and/or sunlight exposure. Osteomalacia in the adult is most commonly found in confined, dark-skinned, or diet-disbalanced subjects. Many of the effects of the disease overlap with the more common osteoporosis, but the two diseases are significantly different. Osteomalacia is specifically a defect in mineralization of the protein framework known as osteoid. This defective mineralization is mainly caused by lack in vitamin D. Osteomalacia is derived from Greek: osteo refers to bone, and malacia means softness. In the past, the disease was also known as... less