When is the Osteoarthritis Label Inappropriate: Clarification of Diagnosis and Responsibility for Clinical Significance

Osteoarthritis is the name given not only to a common disease but also erroneously to other phenomena. While well-defined clinically, application of the term in the anthropologic literature is misleading because of use of speculative, actually erroneous criteria. The term erosive osteoarthritis is also problematic. It describes a disorder that is not responsive to standard treatments for osteoarthritis, but does respond to those utilized for calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, suggesting that as the more appropriate diagnosis. Vertebral osteoarthritis (exclusive of the zygapophyseal joints) is also a misnomer. Not only do osteophytes on vertebral centra not represent an arthritis (as no diarthrodial joint is involved), but they are actually asymptomatic. Other misconceptions relate to association of osteoarthritis and weight, more likely related to joint instability and ambulation on artificial surfaces. Perhaps the best natural animal model for osteoarthritis is avian, a subject worthy of future attention.