1. Radiation osteitis of the ribs associated with pathological fracture is a slowly developing lesion which may appear at varying intervals following initial irradiation. The eleven-year interval in the case presented is believed to be one of the longest reported in the literature.
2. Healing of such fractures may occur, but the process is very slow, as exemplified by the presence of only partial healing in one such fracture during a six-year observation period.
3. The importance of distinguishing radiation osteitis from metastatic carcinoma should be emphasized.