Occupational acro-osteolysis.

Occupational acro-osteolysis is a serious disease definitely related to the inhalation of agents involved in the polymerization of vinyl chloride. After variable periods of latency, the more or less characteristic clinical picture appears. A Raynaud's phenomenon is usually a premonitory sign indicating that alterations in bone will probably ensue. Scleroderma-like skin lesions and systemic involvement of variable degree occur frequently. The pathophysiology of the disease is unknown, but obstructive lesions of small peripheral arteries are thought to cause osteolysis of the distal phalanges of the fingers.