Osteomyelitis affects which parts of the body?

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Multiple Choice

Osteomyelitis affects which parts of the body?

Osteomyelitis is an infection that targets bone and bone marrow. The term itself—osteo meaning bone and myel meaning marrow—shows the primary tissue involved. Bacteria reach bone through the bloodstream, direct extension, or from nearby infection, and they tend to lodge in the bone’s marrow spaces, leading to inflammation and destruction there. This most often affects the metaphyses of long bones in children and the spine or other bones in adults. While infections can spread to surrounding tissues, the defining sites for this condition are the bone and its marrow. In contrast, heart valves are involved in endocarditis, the lungs in pneumonia, and the skin in cellulitis, so those are not the primary targets of osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis is an infection that targets bone and bone marrow. The term itself—osteo meaning bone and myel meaning marrow—shows the primary tissue involved. Bacteria reach bone through the bloodstream, direct extension, or from nearby infection, and they tend to lodge in the bone’s marrow spaces, leading to inflammation and destruction there. This most often affects the metaphyses of long bones in children and the spine or other bones in adults. While infections can spread to surrounding tissues, the defining sites for this condition are the bone and its marrow. In contrast, heart valves are involved in endocarditis, the lungs in pneumonia, and the skin in cellulitis, so those are not the primary targets of osteomyelitis.

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