Disappearing bone disease. A clinical and histological study.

The case histories of three patients, a man and two boys, with disappearing bone disease are reported. The clinical, roentgenographic, and histopathological features are described in detail. Histologically, in the early stages of the disease, the vanishing bone is replaced by numerous wide engorged capillaries. Eventually the bone is replaced by dense fibrous tissue. All three patients were treated by radiotherapy. Histochemical studies performed in one case revealed strong acid phosphatase and leucine aminopeptidase activities in perivascular mononuclear cells (possibly pericytes), suggesting that these cells took part in the bone resorption.