[Structure of the spongy substance of the human vertebra in the elderly].

Structural peculiarities of the spongy substance samples from the lumbar vertebrae of elderly persons have been studied basing on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the raster-electronmicroscopic microphotos. The structural peculiarities and space organization of the spongy substance of the vertebral body have been studied in six topographically different zones. Mean thickness of the trabeculae and average width of the medullary spaces, as well as a relative volume of the osseous substance per volume unit of the spongy substance have been defined. Definite signs of the developing osteoporosis have been revealed in all the zones studied; the signs are mostly expressed in the central and superior zones of the vertebral body. Morphological signs of the age reorganization of the trabecular architectonics display in fenestration of the lamellar structures, up to their complete disappearance. Simultaneously, trabecules having cylindric form decrease in their thickness, and mean width of the medullary space increases.