Osteoporosis Case Study

Dorothy Nicoll

A & P 171

Izy Grooms

Osmosis: Marissa, Jeremy, and Eleanor

Question on front of packet

Calcium helps to keep bones strong but just drinking milk doesn’t mean that you won’t get osteoporosis. You may be genetically inclined to get it even though you drink milk every day. There are also many other things that contribute to getting osteoporosis, like not eating enough calcium, doing steroids causes bones to become weak and look like sponges when looking at it under a microscope. Scenarios A,B, and C help to explain that it’s not just the calcium that can cause osteoporosis

Scenario A:

1. The skeleton is a metabolically active organ that undergoes continuous remodeling throughout life. Bone remodeling involves the removal of mineralized bone by osteoclasts followed by formation of bone matrix through the osteoblasts that subsequently become mineralized. The remodeling cycle consists of three constructive phases resorption, during which osteoclasts digest bone; reversal, when mononuclear cells appear on bone surface; and formation, when osteoclasts lay down new bone until the reabsorbed bone is completely replaced. Bone remodeling serves to adjust bone architecture to meet changing mechanical needs and helps to repair micro damages in bone matrix preventing the accumulation of old bone. It also plays an important role in maintaining plasma calcium homeostasis.

2. Calcium is essential for maintaining the necessary level of bone to support the structures of the body. The body is constantly using calcium fir the heart, blood, muscles, and nerves. Calcium is also lost through normal bodily process such as waste and the shedding of hair, finger nails, sweat and skin. If a patient’s diet doesn’t include enough calcium to replace what it used, the body will take calcium away from the bone, which weakens them and makes them more likely to fracture.

3. Parathyroid hormone enhances as the release of calcium from large reservoirs contained...