An Atlas of Osteoporosis

The art of effective diagnosis is one that relies to a considerable degree - although certainly not exclusively - on the recognition of visual signs and manifestations of disease. The object of this series is to provide a practical aid to diagnosis by illustrating and explaining the wide range of visual signs that a physician needs to be aware of in current medical practice. Whilst the visual manifestations of disease themselves remain constant, the development of new techniques of invasive and non-invasive diagnosis mean that new images are frequently being added to the range of visual material that the diagnostician must be familiar with - ultrasound radiology magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopy and photomicrography all provide examples of this kind of material. It is the intention of this series to document where appropriate the result of such techniques and to explain and elucidate their relevance - in addition to documenting all the more standard visual images.
The series is also distinctive in that individual volumes will focus on carefully selected, specific topics, which can be covered in some detail - rather than on generalized and broadly-based subject areas that could not easily be covered so thoroughly. The authors contributing to the series have all been selected for their special expertise in their own chosen fields, their access to outstanding visual material and their ability to explain the significance of it in an effective and lucid way. This atlas deals with the most widespread metabolic bone disease, osteoporosis. It concentrates on postmenopausal osteoporosis, the most common form, but also covers other forms. The book illustrates the normal physiological processes of bone and bone cells, and the pathological processes that lead to the development of the disease. It describes associated hormonal and biochemical changes, and outlines the modern methods used to diagnose and monitor the disease. Finally, the various therapeutic options are reviewed and schemes of management are outlined.