Bone Densitometry in Research and Practice

Abstract

This symposium honors the 75th anniversary of the Department of Orthopedics at Niigata. It is a distinct pleasure to honor 75 years of achievement. The most important bone disease in the world is osteoporosis, a condition of excessive skeletal fragility. Over one half million fractures occur each year in the United States due to osteoporosis at a cost of over $10 billion. Bone density is the most important determinant of skeletal fragility, and measurement of bone density has become a basic tool in clinical practice and research in this area. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is the most commonly used method of measuring bone density and is the subject of this discussion.