Question

old norse stories tell of a famous viking named egil, who lived around 900 ad. his skull was greatly enlarged and misshapen, and the cranial bones were thickened (6 cm, more than 2 inches, thick). he had headaches from the pressure exerted by enlarged vertebrae on his spinal cord. so much blood was diverted to his bones to support their extensive remodeling that his fingers and toes always felt cold and his heart was damaged through overexertion. what bone disorder did egil probably have?
osteoporosis
osteomalacia
rickets
pagets disease

Explanation:

• Osteoporosis: It is a condition where bones become weak and brittle due to loss of tissue, mainly from a deficiency of calcium or vitamin D. There is no indication of bone weakening or brittleness in the description of Egil's condition.
• Osteomalacia: This is the softening of the bones, typically due to vitamin D deficiency. The description does not mention softening of bones.
• Rickets: It is a disorder in children caused by vitamin D deficiency, leading to weak or soft bones. Egil is an adult (lived around 900 AD, and the context implies an adult - Viking), so this is not applicable.
• Paget's disease: It is a chronic bone disorder characterized by abnormal bone remodeling. This leads to enlarged, misshapen bones (as described for Egil's skull), thickened bones (cranial bones were thickened), and can cause pressure - related symptoms (headaches from enlarged vertebrae pressing on the spinal cord). Also, the redirection of blood to bones (a feature of Paget's disease) can lead to other symptoms like cold fingers and toes (due to reduced blood flow to extremities) and heart problems (from overexertion as the heart has to pump more blood to the over - active bones).

Answer:

Paget's disease