THE DEVELOPMENT OF SARCOMA IN MYOSITIS OSSIFICANS

Abstract

Myositis ossificans has been described as a deposition of bone in muscles or about their insertions and as a low grade inflammatory process characterized by the formation of bone within, or in contact with muscle.¹The lesion involves primarily the fascial connective tissue, any muscular changes being secondary and degenerative. Aberrant osteogenesis, however, is not limited to the skeletal system and voluntary muscles. True bone formation has been reported as occurring in the meninges, brain, arteries, lungs, lymph nodes, stomach, kidneys, ureter, bladder and skin, as well as in benign and malignant tumors.² Although Guy Patin,³in describing the woman who turned to wood, reported the first case of myositis ossificans in 1692, it was not until the advent of the roentgen ray as a diagnostic aid that the disease really became an important clinical entity and medicolegal question. Freke⁴in 1740 and Copping⁵in