Editing Trabecula (section)

===Clinical significance===
[[File:Spongy bone - Trabecular bone - Normal trabecular bone Trabecular bone etc -- Smart-Servier (cropped).jpg|thumb|Normal and pathological trabecular bone structures]]
Studies have shown that once a human reaches adulthood, bone density steadily decreases with age, to which loss of trabecular bone mass is a partial contributor.<ref name="Characterisation of Trabecular Bone Structure">{{cite book|last1=Parkinson|first1=Ian H.|last2=Fazzalari|first2=Nicola L.|title=Characterisation of Trabecular Bone Structure|date=12 January 2012|publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg|location=Adelaide, SA, Australia|isbn=9783642180521|pages=31–51|url=https://www.springer.com/978-3-642-18052-1|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=4}}</ref> Loss of bone mass is defined by the World Health Organization as [[osteopenia]] if [[Bone density|bone mineral density (BMD)]] is one standard deviation below mean BMD in young adults, and is defined as [[osteoporosis]] if it is more than 2.5 standard deviations below the mean.<ref name="4BoneHealth">{{cite web|title=World Health Organization – WHO Criteria for Diagnosis of Osteoporosis|url=http://www.4bonehealth.org/education/world-health-organization-criteria-diagnosis-osteoporosis/|website=4BoneHealth|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=5}}</ref> A low bone density greatly increases risk for [[stress fracture]], which can occur without warning.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stress Fractures of the Foot and Ankle-OrthoInfo - AAOS|url=http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00379|website=orthoinfo.aaos.org|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=6}}</ref> The resulting low-impact fractures from osteoporosis most commonly occur in the [[Upper extremity of femur|upper femur]], which consists of 25-50% trabecular bone depending on the region, in the [[vertebra|vertebrae]], which are about 90% trabecular, or in the [[Carpal bones|wrist]].<ref name="UPenn">{{cite web|last1=Wehrli|first1=Felix W.|title=Role of Cortical and Trabecular Bone Architecture in Osteoporosis|url=http://cds.ismrm.org/protected/09MProceedings/files/Fri%20A22_07%20Wehrli.pdf|publisher=University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=7}}</ref>

When trabecular bone volume decreases, its original plate-and-rod structure is disturbed; plate-like structures are converted to rod-like structures and pre-existing rod-like structures thin until they disconnect and resorb into the body.<ref name="UPenn" /> Changes in trabecular bone are typically gender-specific, with the most notable differences in bone mass and trabecular microstructure occurring within the age range for menopause.<ref name="Characterisation of Trabecular Bone Structure" /> Trabeculae degradation over time causes a decrease in bone strength that is disproportionately large in comparison to volume of trabecular bone loss, leaving the remaining bone vulnerable to fracture.<ref name="UPenn" />

With osteoporosis there are often also symptoms of [[osteoarthritis]], which occurs when [[cartilage]] in joints is under excessive stress and degrades over time, causing stiffness, pain, and loss of movement.<ref name="Osteoarthritis">{{cite journal|last1=Haq|first1=I.|last2=Murphy|first2=E.|last3=Dacre|first3=J.|title=Osteoarthritis|journal=Postgraduate Medical Journal|date=1 July 2003|volume=79|issue=933|pages=377–383|doi=10.1136/pmj.79.933.377|pmid=12897215|url= |ref=8|language=en|issn=0032-5473|pmc=1742743}}</ref> With osteoarthritis, the underlying bone plays a significant role in cartilage degradation. Thus any trabecular degradation can significantly affect stress distribution and adversely affect the cartilage in question.<ref name="MIT">{{cite web|last1=Lorna|first1=Gibson|title=Lecture 11: Trabecular Bone and Osteoporosis {{!}} Video Lectures {{!}} Cellular Solids: Structure, Properties and Applications {{!}} Materials Science and Engineering {{!}} MIT OpenCourseWare|url=https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/materials-science-and-engineering/3-054-cellular-solids-structure-properties-and-applications-spring-2015/video-lectures/Lecture11-Trabecular-Bone-and-Osteoporosis/|website=ocw.mit.edu|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=9|language=en}}</ref>

Due to its strong effect on overall bone strength,<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Elham |last1=Taghizadeh |first2=Vimal |last2=Chandran |first3=Mauricio |last3=Reyes |first4=Philippe |last4=Zysset |first5=Philippe |last5=Büchler |title=Statistical analysis of the inter-individual variations of the bone shape, volume fraction and fabric and their correlations in the proximal femur |year=2017 |journal=Bone |volume=103 |pages=252–261 |doi=10.1016/j.bone.2017.07.012 |pmid=28732775|url=https://boris.unibe.ch/102296/ }}</ref> there is currently strong speculation that analysis in patterns of trabeculae degradation may be useful in the near future in tracking the progression of osteoporosis.<ref name="Radiopaedia">{{cite web|last1=Shetty|first1=Aditya|title=Trabecular pattern of proximal femur {{!}} Radiology Reference Article {{!}} Radiopaedia.org|url=https://radiopaedia.org/articles/trabecular-pattern-of-proximal-femur|website=radiopaedia.org|access-date=31 March 2017|ref=10|language=en}}</ref>