thalassemia

• symptoms: anemia, jaundice, splenomegaly, hemosiderosis, cardiomegaly, rodent-like face, big head

• erythroid hyperplasia
  => increased medullary pressure
  => atrophy of cortical and cancellous bone
  • shafts flatten then become convex
  • "hair-on-end" skull
  • "honeycomb trabecular bone"

In puberty, peripheral manifestations regress as inactive yellow marrow replaces active red marrow. Thus the skull, spine and pelvis demonstrate the most severe changes in adulthood.

© 2002, C.E. Kahn, Jr.
2002-04-18