Structural Alterations in the Petrous Portion of the Temporal Bone in Osteitis Deformans

INTRODUCTION It has been known since the publication of Sir James Paget's1classic account that osteitis deformans "begins in middle age or later, is very slow in progress, may continue for many years without influence on the general health, and may give no other trouble than those which are due to the changes of shape, size, and direction of the diseased bones" and that "even when the skull is hugely thickened, and all its bones exceedingly altered in structure, the mind remains unaffected." The disease affects "most frequently the long bones of the lower extremities and the skull, and is usually symmetrical. The bones enlarge and soften, and those bearing weight yield and become unnaturally curved and misshapen. The spine, whether by yielding to the weight of the overgrown skull, or by change in its own structures, may sink and seem to shorten with greatly increased dorsal and lumbar curves;