Bone biopsy in women with spinal osteoporosis.

Iliac crest biopsies were obtained from 110 women, 62 of whom had been clinically and radiologically classified as osteoporotics. The amount of osteoid surface was measured by a histological planimetrical method. It was demonstrated that the amount of osteoid does not differ between osteoporotic women and control women and that osteomalacia is rare in both groups.