Compact and trabecular components of the spine using quantitative computed tomography

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Abstract
A computer algorithm was employed to quantify separately cortical and trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) from single energy computed tomography (CT) scans of 139 vertebrae (L1–L3) of 50 normal female subjects. In addition, the trabecular-to-integral and cortical-to-integral mass ratios were determined using digital image segmentation techniques. They showed that for the central 8-mm vertebral slice, the mass of integral bone consists of about one-fifth trabecular and four-fifth cortical bone. The trabecular-to-integral volume ratios were 0.37±0.08 and 0.63±0.08, respectively. Based on cross-sectional data from this subject group, the average annual loss was -2.21±0.15 mg/cm3 or-1.84±0.12% for trabecular bone, -3.15±0.25 mg/cm3 or-1.01±0.08% for cortical bone, and -2.60±0.20 mg/cm3 or -1.09±0.09% for the integral bone. The proportions of the age-related los of BMD from the integral bone which originated from trabecular and cortical bone were 29.5 and 70.5%, respectively.