Bone and Mineral Diseases (Clinical Elective)

2 units

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the clinical, radiological and pathological manifestations and treatment of disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, including osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone, hyperparathyroidism, osteomalacia, chronic kidney disease bone and mineral disease and more rare disorders of bone development and mineral homeostasis. During the pediatric rotations will have exposure to pediatric metabolic bone diseases (heritable or acquired), heritable disorders of connective tissue, skeletal dysplasias and clinical dysmorphology. The student will rotate through the clinics of the Bone Health Program and see patients at the Center for Advanced Medicine, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, Center for Advanced Medicine South, and St. Louis Children's Hospital, under the guidance of Division faculty. The student will also learn the principles and best use of bone densitometry in clinical practice, and participate in the histological assessment of bone biopsies, based on case availability. Medical students will present interesting cases or a pertinent topic related to bone metabolism at the Metabolic Bone Disease Case Conference.