Fibro osseous lesions

Fibro-Osseous lesions [FOL] are a group of lesions which are known to affect the jaws and the craniofacial bones which is regarded as very confusing area in diagnostic pathology . The term refers to a diverse process in which the normal architecture of bone is replaced by fibrous tissue containing varying amount of foci of mineralization. These group of lesions are known to encompass common characteristics that include common clinical radiographic and microscopic features. Most of these lesions are of unknown aetiology while some lesions are believed to be neoplastic while others are related to metabolic disturbances and are also believed to cause considerable diagnostic challenges. While some of the FOL are believed to be true neoplasms having a considerable potential for growth if not fully excised the peculiar anatomic location of these craniofacial lesions can result in conditions like encephalitis and sometime meningitis which are considered fatal.Histologically these group of FOL are characterised by the replacement of normal bone by fibrous connective tissue matrix. The fibrous tissue displays variable features like varying degree of mineralization in the form of woven bone or cementum like basophilic structures which are indistinguishable from cementicles. The major challenge faced by the author are further sub classifying the lesions.There has always been constant disagreement regarding the Nomenclature of benign fibro-osseous lesions due in part to the peculiar pathological patterns of stroma and bone in these group of lesions and even similar or identical microscopic features can be in common amongst two or more different lesion