This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.
This first-ever Surgeon General's Report on bone health and osteoporosis illustrates the large burden that bone disease places on our Nation and its citizens. Like other chronic diseases that disproportionately affect the elderly, the prevalence of bone disease and fractures is projected to increase markedly as the population ages. If these predictions come true, bone disease and fractures will have a tremendous negative impact on the future well-being of Americans. But as this report makes clear, they need not come true: by working together we can change the picture of aging in America. Osteoporosis, fractures, and other chronic diseases no longer should be thought of as an inevitable part of growing old. By focusing on prevention and lifestyle changes, including physical activity and nutrition, as well as early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, Americans can avoid much of the damaging impact of bone disease and other chronic diseases. This Surgeon General's Report brings together for the first time the scientific evidence related to the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of bone disease. More importantly, it provides a framework for moving forward. The report will be another effective tool in educating Americans about how they can promote bone health throughout their lives. This first-ever Surgeon General's Report on bone health and osteoporosis provides much needed information on bone health, an often overlooked aspect of physical health. This report follows in the tradition of previous Surgeon Generals' reports by identifying the relevant scientific data, rigorously evaluating and summarizing the evidence, and determining conclusions.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Human Health and Diseases provides a contemporary overview of the fast-moving field of MSC biology, regenerative medicine and therapeutics. MSCs offer the potential to dramatically reduce human suffering from disease. Numerous MSC-based studies are ongoing each year, each offering hope for novel treatments in human disease. This book provides information on MSC application in well-studied human diseases and tissue repair/regeneration and recent advances in their research and treatment. These discoveries are placed within the structural context of tissue and developmental biology in sections dealing with recent advances in our understanding of MSC biology. - Includes insights ranging from MSC biology and development through the derivation and identification and properties of MSCs - Helps to identify potential innovative solutions for restoring normal morphogenesis and/or regeneration of diseased organs - Discusses the fact-based promise of MSC therapeutics and regenerative medicine in the real world
Mechanobiology in Health and Disease brings together contributions from leading biologists, clinicians, physicists and engineers in one convenient volume, providing a unified source of information for researchers in this highly multidisciplinary area. Opening chapters provide essential background information on cell mechanotransduction and essential mechanobiology methods and techniques. Other sections focus on the study of mechanobiology in healthy systems, including bone, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, the heart and the skin, as well as mechanobiology studies of pregnancy. Final chapters address the nascent area of mechanobiology in disease, from the study of bone conditions, skin diseases and heart diseases to cancer. A discussion of future perspectives for research completes each chapter in the volume. This is a timely resource for both early-career and established researchers working on mechanobiology. - Provides an essential digest of primary research from many fields and disciplines in one convenient volume - Covers both experimental approaches and descriptions of mechanobiology problems from mathematical and numerical perspectives - Addresses the hot topic of mechanobiology in disease, a particularly dynamic field of frontier science
Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains, Third Edition, provides an integrated and comprehensive treatment of the pathological conditions that affect the human skeleton. As ancient skeletal remains can reveal a treasure trove of information to the modern orthopedist, pathologist, forensic anthropologist, and radiologist, this book presents a timely resource. Beautifully illustrated with over 1,100 photographs and drawings, it provides an essential text and material on bone pathology, thus helping improve the diagnostic ability of those interested in human dry bone pathology. - Presents a comprehensive review of the skeletal diseases encountered in archaeological human remains - Includes more than 1100 photographs and line drawings illustrating skeletal diseases, including both microscopic and gross features - Based on extensive research on skeletal paleopathology in many countries - Reviews important theoretical issues on how to interpret evidence of skeletal disease in archaeological human populations
The goals of this guide to the identification and interpretation of joint disease are: (1) to identify the diagnostic criteria that are relevant to investigations of joint disease in dry and macerated bone specimens; (2) to differentiate between various disease forms; and (3) to highlight contentious issues, such as the antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis and the implications of the prevalence and severity of joint disease for reconstructing the behaviors of past peoples. The text advocates the use of unambiguous terminology and hence discusses descriptive terms and illustrates how the use of colloquial or otherwise inappropriate terms can lead to errors of interpretation. Joint disease causes proliferative and/or erosive bony lesions that preferentially, but not exclusively, affect the synovial joints of the body and this manual emphasizes those diseases. The major sections of the book review the pathogenesis, disease process, anatomical distribution, and diagnosis of osteoarthritis; multi-focal erosive arthropathies (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis and the seronegative arthropathies); the less common diseases of synovial joints, including gout, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and septic arthritis; and conditions affecting the non-synovial joints of the spine such as spinal osteophytosis, degenerative disc disease, Schmorl’s nodes, and the seronegative spondyloarthropathies. The text is greatly enhanced by exceptional illustrations and a glossary of terms completes the book.
Every year workers' low-back, hand, and arm problems lead to time away from jobs and reduce the nation's economic productivity. The connection of these problems to workplace activities-from carrying boxes to lifting patients to pounding computer keyboards-is the subject of major disagreements among workers, employers, advocacy groups, and researchers. Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Workplace examines the scientific basis for connecting musculoskeletal disorders with the workplace, considering people, job tasks, and work environments. A multidisciplinary panel draws conclusions about the likelihood of causal links and the effectiveness of various intervention strategies. The panel also offers recommendations for what actions can be considered on the basis of current information and for closing information gaps. This book presents the latest information on the prevalence, incidence, and costs of musculoskeletal disorders and identifies factors that influence injury reporting. It reviews the broad scope of evidence: epidemiological studies of physical and psychosocial variables, basic biology, biomechanics, and physical and behavioral responses to stress. Given the magnitude of the problem-approximately 1 million people miss some work each year-and the current trends in workplace practices, this volume will be a must for advocates for workplace health, policy makers, employers, employees, medical professionals, engineers, lawyers, and labor officials.
There have always been homeless people in the United States, but their plight has only recently stirred widespread public reaction and concern. Part of this new recognition stems from the problem's prevalence: the number of homeless individuals, while hard to pin down exactly, is rising. In light of this, Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether existing health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas, and through an analysis of papers written by leading scholars in the field.