CIII. Bone Pathology and its Relation to the Problem of Otosclerosis

Abstract

Research in pathology will succeed only if it is built upon a thorough knowledge of normal conditions. Normal histology is the foundation of histopathology. More particularly research in bone pathology requires a detailed knowledge of the construction of normal bone, which is the end-result of a slow and complicated process. Obviously its final formation cannot be properly interpreted without an understanding of this development. The pathologic changes in the bony system represent a repetition of the individual steps of the normal growth, or they may be enhanced by the addition of new developmental phases. Thus the contested questions of bone pathology are also those of normal bone histology.What has just been stated concerning the bony system in general is of significance to the pathology of the bony capsule of the inner ear and consequently to the problem of otosclerosis. Research into the etiology of the latter requires a knowledge of the final construction and development of the bony capsule. As far as is known this development, in all probability, follows the general principles of bone formation.

XCIII. The Cause of Otosclerosis

“…6. The bone picture of local osteodystrophia fibrosa may appear in a nonhyperplastic or a hyperplastic form.…”