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osteoporosis
(os″te-o-pә-ro´sis)
a decreased mass per unit volume of normally mineralized bone, leading to fractures after minimal trauma; this is an insidious
disease that silently robs the skeleton of its mineral stores. The most common sites for such bone loss and resultant fractures
are the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, the ribs, the upper part of the femur, and the lower part of the radius. The most common
form of osteoporosis is the postmenopausal type seen in middle-aged or elderly women. A hereditary variety is called osteogenesis imperfecta.
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