Bone and Joint Infections: Introduction and Epidemiology

Osteomyelitis, the infection and inflammation of long bones or bone marrow, has been documented in medical literature throughout history, from ancient Egypt and Greece to modern times. Various terms have been used to describe this condition, such as “cold of bones,” “necrosis,” “typhus,” “carbuncle of the bone,” “osteitis,” “periostitis,” “osteoperiostitis,” and “periosteomyelitis.” These terms all convey the notion of an inflammatory process affecting the bone