Osteopenia

Description: One of the most common findings in skeletal radiology is increased radiolucency of bone, most properly termed osteopenia. This term is much preferred over terms such as "demineralization" or "undermineralization", since we really can't tell the exact mineral status of the patient's bone from the radiograph alone. The most common cause by far of osteopenia is osteoporosis. However, there are many disease entities that can cause osteopenia, so the mere finding of radiolucent bone does not make this an automatic diagnosis. Rather, it prompts a search for other more specific clues to the exact underlying disorder.