What is fibrous dysplasia?

Also known as: FD, polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, monostotic fibrous dysplasia

Fibrous dysplasia is an uncommon bone disease frequently affecting one bone (the skull or long bones of the arms and legs), where the cells that normally form strong healthy bones produce softer weak scar-like tissue known as “fibrous tissue”. These weakened bones can break with pain, or result in misshapen bones, arthritis and other complications. It can be an isolated disease or may be associated with other abnormalities - one of which is a disorder called McCune-Albright syndrome (with dark skin spots and abnormalities of endocrine glands).

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM