Skeletal manifestations of ectopic or inappropriate endocrine and metabolic syndromes. A variety of tumors and nontumorous lesions were used to illustrate some of the biologic, clinical, and pathologic aspects of inappropriate or ectopic endocrine and metabolic syndromes that have musculoskeletal repercussions. It is clear, both from the discussion and case material, that many mechanisms of ectopic endocrine syndromes have yet to be clarified. Elaborate techniques are available for hormonal estimations, but their routine use is prohibitively expensive and relatively unrewarding. Cells of a given lesion may be functionally heterogeneous or may fail to elaborate active products in substantial amounts. Different cells may produce similar peptides, while the same cells can produce more than one. Despite these difficulties, recognition of ectopic endocrine syndromes remains crucial to diagnosis and patient management, and thus corroboration or correlation must often rest on a cruder basis. In fact, the clinical significance of basic laboratory data, e.g., PTH elevation, may vary, as PTH may be immunoreactive but biologically inactive. As another example, hypercalcemia associated with myeloma may be variously related to coexistent hyperparathyroidism, renal disease, dehydration, or humoral osteolysis. Therefore, roentgenographic evidence of bone destruction or skeletal stigmata of hyperparathyroidism imbues laboratory data with greater significance. Paraneoplastic syndromes are of particular concern to the radiologist, as multiple systemic manifestations, occurring either synchronously or metachronously, may suggest the presence of an underlying or unifying lesion or even of a specific type of neoplasm. They may precede detection of neoplasms by months to years and can develop at any time during their course. Paraneoplastic syndromes may, furthermore, parallel the course of a lesion and be used as indicators of remission or recurrence. Conversely, those unassociated with overt symptoms possess endocrine markers that can reinforce sometimes silent skeletal stigmata. Familiarity with representative secretory products influencing the musculoskeletal system per se may often clarify seemingly innocuous and sometimes asymptomatic skeletal findings. Alert imagers may, therefore, detect, infer, or suspect particular syndromes when they present in a specific sequence or mosaic. Conversely, when apprised of their existence, imagers should know where their related effects may be sought or anticipated. Such relationships, sometimes serendipitously discovered, may be valuable assets in clinical diagnosis and patient management in both suspected and unsuspected cases. 