Recently, oteomyelitis from oral and maxillofacial region which is an acute or chronic inflammatory process in medullary spaces or cortical surfaces of bone is uncommon in Korea. And the clinicopatholgic study of osteomyelitis in Korea has been rarely reported. The purpose of this study were to examine the clinicopatholgic analysis of osteomyelitis patients and to apply its results for treatment. Retrospective analysis of 103 cases of osteomyelitis patients treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at DKUDH from 1991 to 2000. There was a male predominance with a 2.3:1 ratio. The mean age of onset of disease was almost the same in cases of acute and chronic osteomyelitis: 29.4 years(range 1-81 years). Swelling, pain, pus discharge, and sequestration were main characteristic features of this disease entity. Acute chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws is caused mostly by a bacterial focus(odontogenic disease, periapical lesion, pericoronitis, periodontal disease, postextraction wounds, and infected fractures). It suggested that acute and chronic osteomyelitis could be basically the same disease separated by the arbitrary time limit of 1 month after onset of the disease by a true bacterial infection. And these results could play an role in the diagnosis and treatment of osteomyelitis of the jaws

Ⅰ. Introduction
 Ⅱ. Material and Methods
 Ⅲ. Results
 Ⅳ. Discussion
 Ⅴ. References

• 이종헌(Department of Oral Pathology, Dental College, The Oral Aging Research Center, Dankook University) | Chong Heon Lee correspondence