"The quiet necrosis": An early medieval case of multifocal juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of the knee.

BACKGROUND

osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is an ancient disease with few well-described cases in paleopathological records. Here, we report a very rare case of OCD on both lateral femoral condyles and on the lateral condyle of the right tibia in an early medieval human skeleton.

METHODS

macroscopic examination of the bone vestiges of a young male unearthed from a 6th-8th Lombard cemetery in the northeast Italy was perform.

RESULTS

We observed a circular crater-like depression with well-defined smooth margins and exposure of the trabecular bone on both lateral femoral condyles and in the lateral condyle of the right tibia. The left tibia was fragmented and the lateral condyle was lacking. Findings are consistent with the diagnosis of multifocal juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of the knee.

CONCLUSION

Research in past and modern skeletal remains can contribute to define the nature and distribution of OCD.