The relation between sub-capital fracture of the femur and mineral content of the right third metacarpal.

Positive correlation between the mineral content of the mid site of right third metacarpal and neck of femur has been established using the psi-ray absorption technique described by Shimmins et al. (1972b) to make measurements on excised human bones. An X-ray method (Anderson, Shimmins and Smith, 1966; Shimmins et al. 1972a) was used to measure the mineral content of the right third metacarpal in 101 female and 22 male patients with subcapital fracture of the ferum. When their metacarpal "whole bone densities" were compared with those of control subjects of the same age and sex, they were found to have significantly lower (P smaller than (0.025) average values. However, groups of patients defined according to Garden's classification of severity of fracture could not be distinguished one from the other on the basis of metacarpal whole bone density measurement.