As with any pathology, the same stepwise process is used, including clinical exam, laboratory test including complete blood count with differential (CBC with diff), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), bone biopsy for histopathology and microbiology, imaging including x-ray, nuclear studies such as three-phase bone scan, WBC tagged studies (e.g. hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime, or HMPAO) in which focal uptake is consistent with osteomyelitis and diffuse uptake with cellulitis, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (8). Here, CRP is linked to cellulitis.