Surface temperatures of avian osteopetrotic bones.

Body temperatures and surface temperatures of metatarsal bones were recorded in normal and osteopetrotic chickens. Osteopetrotic lesions were 6.5 F warmer than normal bones but there was no corresponding increase in body temperature at a given environmental temperature. This indicates that the temperature elevation in the osteopetrotic lesion is a local phenomenon and not a systemic response. This also supports earlier observations that osteopetrotic bones feel warmer to the touch than normal bones.