[Quantitative bone biopsy and primary hyperparathyroidism, its role in diagnosis. Apropos of 45 cases]

Iliac bone biopsy, including a quantitative study, was carried out in 38 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (34 surgical patients, 4 with typical syndromes based on laboratory analysis). A second biopsy was carried out in 7 cases. By studying both the surface resorption of the strands of the spongy tissue and periosteocyte osteolysis (an indirect measure by assessment of the surface aera of the periosteocyte lacunae), it is possible to arrive at a histological diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism in 98 percent of cases: surface resorption is increased in 82 percent of cases; the periosteocyte lacunae are enlarged in 91 percent of cases; the two criteria together give a positive result in 44 cases out of 45 (98 percent). This morphometric study is particularly valuable in those cases in which the qualitative histological appearance is not very informative.