Changes in Trabecular Pattern of the Upper End of the Femur as an Index of Osteoporosis

Roentgenograms of the hip region, in a series of thirty-five patients above the age of fifty years, were studied with particular reference to the trabecular pattern of the upper end of the femur. The findings were correlated with the clinical data and the Beck and Nordin iliac-crest biopsy gradings of the same patients. It was observed that definite progressive changes occur in the trabeculae of the upper end of the femur as normal bone deteriorates to severe osteoporosis. With increasing degrees of bone loss, six different trabecular patterns can be recognized in the upper femur. It is suggested that these patterns can be utilized as a roentgenographic scale for the diagnosis and grading of osteoporosis.