Studies were conducted in a group of patients with varose
deformity. The present paper gives the results of indicidual bone metabolism studies conducted on 663 healthy controls and patients with articular disease without
genu varum or with varose
deformity. In subjects with
genu varum intravenous administration of
calcium causes the urinary elimination of
hydroxyproline and
nitrogen to fall. Among the groups under investigation this group of patients excretes the least amount of urine, has a relatively low calciuria and shows the highest retention rate of intravenously administered
calcium. Patients with gonarthrosis associated to varose
deformity excrete, a day after
intravenous administration of
calcium, the relatively least amounts of
phosphorus, as compared to the healthy controls and other degenerative
joint diseases without
genu varum. Although the retention of intravenous
calcium in the studied group resembles that seen in the process of generalized
osteomalacia, no coinciding signs of
osteomalacia c ould be found in subjects with gonarthrosis and varose
deformity. X-ray examination of patients with
genu varum revealed more marked changes in the bone structure, namely
sclerosis,
necrosis and
osteophytes of shapes and sizes other than in gonarthrosis without varose
deformity. Epidemiological analysis of 30 patients showed 83.3% of patients to have
overweight type I to III according to the Broca formula. Pains in the knee joints started appearing at the mean age of 50 years. A large part of the patients showed the presence of serious varicose syndrome and relapsing
phlebitis of the lower limbs. Although the clinical and X-ray pictures make it possible to conisder a larger amount of disease types, we assume that gonarthrosis with varose
deformity may be regarded as an isolated clinical entity which refers primarily to a localized bone process.