Bone within a bone

Case contributed by Jeremy Jones
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. ? Alagille's syndrome. Exclude butterfly vertebrae.

Patient Data

Age: 6 weeks
Gender: Male
x-ray

Extensive abnormality throughout the spine with a bone-within-a-bone appearance.

No butterfly vertebra.

Case Discussion

There are many causes of the bone-within-a-bone appearance which include a normal variant in babies and growth arrest during chronic illness as well as autosomal dominant osteopetrosis.

In this case, no underlying cause was found and it was therefore considered to be a normal variant.

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