[A simple evaluation of osteoporosis: study of the architecture of the upper extremity of the femur by pelvic radiography].

From the study of the architectural features of the system connecting the neck to the femoral diaphysis on pelvic radio-grams, osteoporosis can be classified into seven stages (7 to 1) of increasing severity. It is thus possible to estimate the risk of fracture, the latter being over 50 per cent from stage 4 onward. The cortex-diaphysis relationship (RCD) follows a parallel course but is less reliable. The investigation of a control group of 20 subjects and 37 patients with osteoporosis, aged 50 to over 80, shows the value of this method, with which it is moreover possible to check the evolution of the disease and the effects of treatment.