[Comparison of radiodensitometry and histomorphometry in normal and abnormal bone (author's transl)]

85 adults of both sexes, suffering from variety of bone disorders were studied by means of humeral radiodensitometry and histomorphometric analysis of iliac bone biopsies. Trabecular bone volume (TBV) was not related to cortical thickness. Bone mineral density was related to iliac TBV only in female subjects. The value of these measures is limited in osteoporosis because of measurement errors and skeletal inhomogeneity. In osteoporosis, variable histomorphometric features were observed. However, radiodensitometry proved a good measure of the state of mineralization in osteomalacia.