Imaging of trabecular bone structure

Semin Musculoskelet Radiol. 2002 Sep;6(3):253-61. doi: 10.1055/s-2002-36723.

Abstract

In addition to bone mass, trabecular bone architecture is an important entity in assessing bone fragility, which is crucial in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. A number of imaging techniques have been used to analyze bone structure noninvasively. Projection radiography has been used with good results in the peripheral skeleton; however, this is only a two-dimensional technique, which reflects trabecular bone structure to a certain extent. High-resolution tomographic techniques, such as high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography (CT), have a limited spatial resolution but the potential to image three-dimensional architecture of trabecular bone. With the advances in magnetic resonance hardware and software and new CT techniques (i.e., multislice spiral CT and clinical micro-CT), noninvasive imaging of trabecular bone is becoming more feasible.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bone and Bones / anatomy & histology*
  • Bone and Bones / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Osteoporosis / diagnosis
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed