The Truth About Fluoride have a great page on Skeletal Fluorosis. Click on image below.

 

X-Ray Diagnosis of Skeletal Fluorosis

In 1937, Kaj Roholm published his seminal study Fluorine Intoxication in which he described three phases of bone changes that occur in skeletal fluorosis. (See below). These three phases, which are detectable by x-ray, have been widely used as a diagnostic guide for detecting the disease. They describe an osteosclerotic bone disease that develops first in the axial skeleton (the spine, pelvis, and ribs), and ultimately results in extensive calcification of ligaments and cartilage, as well as bony outgrowths such as osteophytes and exostoses.

“Pain is a cardinal feature due to arthritic lesions and to secondary peripheral nerve involvement…  Workers at risk: aluminium smelters, phosphate fertilizer, ceramics, steel, glass industries.”

 

X-Ray Diagnosis of Skeletal Fluorosis

Volume 1, 1987 – Edited by Walter Mertz
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Academic Press, Inc.
 

“Fluorine being a cumulative bone-seeking mineral, the resultant skeletal changes are progressive. According to the natural course of the disease, skeletal fluorosis may be classified into the following phases: preclinical, musculoskeletal, degenerative and destructive, crippling fluorosis, and complications… Effects depend not only on the total dosage and duration of exposure, but also on associated factors such as nutritional status, functional status of the renal tissue, and interaction with other trace elements. Since the effect of fluorine is cumulative, the less serious consequences occur early in the natural course of the disease. Whatever may be the type of fluorine exposure, the clinical picture in chronic poisoning occurs in a phased manner.”

“Pain is a cardinal feature due to arthritic lesions and to secondary peripheral nerve involvement…  Workers at risk: aluminium smelters, phosphate fertilizer, ceramics, steel, glass industries.”

“Fluorine is known to bind calcium in the body, causing ionic calcium to decrease; this, in turn, causes secondary hyperparathyroidism.”

“Some industries discharge fluorine in gaseous or other form, polluting their respective neighbourhoods with abnormally high amounts of fluorine, which may result in human and /or cattle disease. The clinical picture is similar to endemic skeletal fluorosis with dental and bone changes… Waldbott described human fluorosis in the neighbourhood of an Ohio enamel factory affecting 23 persons and dogs in the neighborhood. The symptoms were indicative of the preskeletal phase. Urinary fluoride excretion: 0.4 to 2.4 mg/day.”

“Renal stones, reported to be common in endemic fluorosis areas, are capable of accumulating considerable amounts of fluorine… Although the exact genesis of renal stones in fluorine toxicity is not known, it is conjectured that insoluble calcium fluoride is deposited in the urinary tract as a nucleus around which other salts are deposited.”