Images Dated 25th June 1999

Coloured X-ray of femur fracture in osteoporosis

Osteoporosis fracture. Coloured X-ray of the hip of an elderly woman with a fractured femur (lower right, pink/green) caused by osteoporosis (brittle bone disease). The round femur head articulates with the pelvis at the hip socket (centre). The femur (thigh bone) is fractured at the neck between the head and shaft of the bone. Osteo- porosis causes a loss in bone density, making the bones thinner, more brittle and more likely to break. In this case the femur fractured by a fall. Osteoporosis is most common in women after the menopause as their ovaries no longer produce the oestrogen hormones which help maintain bone mass

© MEDICAL PHOTO NHS LOTHIAN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY