The situation is complicated in a patient with a pathological fracture.

Pathological fracture: Bones weakened by disease break with little force.

With bone involvement the first indication for disease may be a pathological fracture.

Osteoporosis is the most common cause of pathological fracture.

Hip fracture following a fall is likely to be a pathological fracture.

They can also occur as a consequence of diseases such as cancer or infections (pathological fracture).

Osteolytic lesions can lead to pathological fractures.

Any acute severe exacerbation or development of new bone pain should be evaluated for the presence of a pathological fracture.

Frequently asymptomatic, skeletal lymphangiomatosis may be discovered incidentally or when a pathological fracture occurs.

Due to the tendency for dentigerous cysts to expand rapidly, they may cause pathological fractures of jaw bones.

Pathological fractures can arise in affected metaphyses and diaphyses of the long bones and are common (26%).

Pathological fractures.

The affected bone is not as strong as normal bones and may fracture with minor trauma (a pathological fracture).

Protective weight bearing is recommended for patients with tumors of weight-bearing bones to prevent pathological fractures that could preclude limb-preserving surgery.

The classic bone disease in hyperparathyroidism is osteitis fibrosa cystica, which results in pain and sometimes pathological fractures.

Metastatic disease to the bone causes severe, progressive pain, and, less commonly, pathological fracture, erythema over the affected bone, and swelling.

Pathological fractures present as a chalkstick fracture in long bones, and appear as a transverse fractures nearly 90 degrees to the long axis of the bone.

Pathological fracture - A fracture through a bone which has been made weak by some underlying disease is called pathological fracture.

Bramer JA, Abudu AA, Grimer RJ, et al.: Do pathological fractures influence survival and local recurrence rate in bony sarcomas?

Plain x-rays reveal the presence of lytic lesions in bones, pathological fractures, interstitial infiltrates in the lungs, and chylous effusions that may be present even when there are no outward symptoms.

X-ray radiography is recommended if there is abnormal radionuclide uptake from the bone scan and in assessing the risk of pathological fractures, and is recommended as the initial imaging study in patients with bone pain.

Some current studies indicate that osteoclast inhibitors such as alendronate and pamidronate may have beneficial effects on the quality of life by reducing osteolysis, thus reducing the degree of pain as well as the risk of pathological fractures.

Only a small number of conditions are commonly responsible for pathological fractures, including osteoporosis, osteomalacia, paget's disease, osteitis, osteogenesis imperfecta, benign bone tumours and cysts, secondary malignant bone tumours and primary malignant bone tumours.

An active cyst is adjacent to the epiphyseal plate and tends to grow until it fills the entire diaphysis, the shaft, of the bone; depending on the invasiveness of the cyst, it can cause a pathological fracture or even destroy the epiphyseal plate leading to the permanent shortening of the bone.