Deficit of trabecular and cortical bone in elderly women with fracture of the femoral neck.

1. The mean attenuation coefficients of trabecular and cortical bone in the radius were measured in 32 female patients with fractured proximal femur, and in 28 age-matched female controls, with a special-purpose computed tomography-scanner. 2. The largest difference between the two groups was in the mean attenuation coefficients for trabecular bone in the distal radius. The mean value for fracture patients (0.53 cm-1) was significantly lower (P < 0.02) than the mean value for the controls (0.62 cm-1). These results are consistent with the view that a loss of trabecular bone predisposes to fractures of the proximal femur.