Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is a severe infection of bone and bone marrow, usually through the staphylococci bacterial organism. Infection can be through a trivial injury but usually it is seen with open fractures, contaminated wounds over exposed bone, or from objects penetrating the skin down to bone. The disease can be acute or chronic. The process of osteomyelitis begins by bacteria lodging in the bone where it multiplies resulting in pus formation and increased pressure within the bone and decreased blood supply to the bone and finally bone necrosis (death). Pieces of dead bone called sequestra may initiate further infection and the infection spreads, in some cases not just locally but to an entirely different site