Cotton wool appearance (bone)

Last revised by Ashesh Ishwarlal Ranchod on 13 Nov 2023

The cotton wool appearance is a plain film sign of Paget disease and results from thickened, disorganized trabeculae which lead to areas of sclerosis in a previously lucent area of bone, typically the skull. These sclerotic patches are poorly defined and fluffy.

See also

Other Paget disease related signs:

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Cases and figures

  • Figure 1: cotton
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  • Case 1: lateral skull film
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  • Case 2
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  • Case 3
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  • Case 4
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  • Case 5
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