Rationale

Lumps or masses are a common cause for consultation with a physician. Musculoskeletal lumps or masses represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality.

Causal Conditions

(list not exhaustive)

1. Arising in soft tissue

   1. Infectious (e.g. furuncle, abscess)

   2. Inflammatory (e.g., tophus, rheumatoid nodule)

   3. Noninflammatory (e.g., lipoma, xanthoma, synovial cyst)

   4. Neoplastic (e.g., melanoma, Kaposi sarcoma, leiomyosarcoma)

2. Arising in bone

   1. Congenital (e.g., osteochondroma)

   2. Infectious (e.g., osteomyelitis)

   3. Inflammatory (e.g., joint changes from rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Osgood-Schlatter disease)

   4. Noninflammatory (e.g., osteophyte)

   5. Trauma (e.g., callus from fracture, fracture)

   6. Neoplastic (e.g., Ewing sarcoma, metastatic disease)

3. Arising in nerves

   1. Congenital (e.g., neurofibroma)

   2. Infectious (e.g., leprosy [Hansen disease])

   3. Benign (e.g., neuroma, sarcoid granuloma, schwannoma)

   4. Neoplastic (e.g., malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour)

Key Objectives

Given a patient with a musculoskeletal lump or mass, the candidate will diagnose the cause, severity, and complications, and will initiate an appropriate management plan. In particular, they will distinguish benign lumps or masses from those that are malignant.

Enabling Objectives

Given a patient with a musculoskeletal lump or mass, the candidate will