Exostosis
hyperostosis that involves formation of new bone on the surface of preexisting bone
An exostosis (pl. exostoses) is a benign (non-cancerous) new growth projecting from the surface of a bone, informally known as a bone spur. Exostoses can cause chronic pain ranging from mild to severe, depending on the shape, size, and location of the lesion, though most are asymptomatic and are found by chance on plain x-ray taken for other reasons. Occasionally, an exostosis can be potentially life-threatening.
When used in the phrases "cartilaginous exostosis" or "osteocartilaginous exostosis", the term is considered synonymous with osteochondroma. Some sources consider the two terms to mean the same thing even without qualifiers, but this interpretation is not universal.
Osteomyelitis, a bone infection, may leave the adjacent bone with exostosis formation. Charcot foot, the neuropathic breakdown of the feet seen primarily in diabetics, can also leave bone spurs that may then become symptomatic.
Osteophytes
Osteophytes are bone spurs that develop on the margins of joints secondary to external stimuli such as osteoarthritis. However, these are not always distinguished from extoses in any definite way.
The public source identifies “Exostosis” as hyperostosis that involves formation of new bone on the surface of preexisting bone. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Exostosis, hyperostosis and involves.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1384176. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Exostosis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.