The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 70, Issue 7 1052-1060, Copyright © 1988 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Changes in the long bones due to fetal immobility caused by neuromuscular disease. A radiographic and histological study
JI Rodriguez, A Garcia-Alix, J Palacios and R Paniagua
Department of Pathology, Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
The long bones in eleven newborn infants who had neuromuscular disease were
studied and were found to be thin, hypomineralized, and elongated. In most
of the bones, there were multiple diaphyseal or metaphyseal fractures, or
both. By light microscopy, the outstanding findings were fractures through
the growth plate and diaphysis and thinning of the cortices. The etiology
of the fractures and the insufficient substance of the bone is the
reduction in the intrauterine motion of the fetus, which leads to fragility
of the bones and contractures of the joints. The severity of the
alterations may have been related to the time of the onset of the
abnormalities and to the duration and degree of the intrauterine akinesia.
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