Computerized three-dimensional histomorphometric study of iliac bone in patients with femoral neck fracture

To elucidate the pathology of osteoporosis, we used a computer, to investigate three-dimensional tissue morphometry in biopsied iliac bone specimens from 20 female patients with femoral neck fractures. The 20 fracture patients were divided into two groups according to age: group I, patients below 70 years of age (n=10) and group II, patient 70 years of age or more (n=10). Five patients who also underwent iliac bone biopsy but who did not have fractures served as the control group. We found that the ilium in group I patients was composed of many small thin trabecular structures, while the ilium in group II was composed of only a few broad trabecular structures. The three-dimensional Euler number was small in osteoporosis, suggesting that trabecular connectivity was also diminished and the fractal dimension decreased. This indicated that the trabecular structure had become irregular. These findings indicate that the number of trabeculae appeared to decrease with trabecular blocking due to osteoporotic changes, and, simultaneously with this phenomenon, the which of the individual trabeculae seemed to become thicker in accordance with bone adaptation to mechanical stress.A summary of this paper was reported at the 9th Annual Orthopaedic Research Meeting of the Japanese Orthopaedics Association (October, 1994), and the 3rd Study Meeting of the Japanese Society of Osteoporosis (October, 1994).